Unemployment rises in August by 24,826 people after five months of falls

The rise in August puts an end to a streak of five consecutive months of declines in unemployment. In this way, the total number of unemployed once again exceeded the barrier of 2.7 million people in the eighth month of the year, from which it had fallen for the first time in 15 years last June. Specifically, August ended with 2,702,700 unemployed people, its lowest figure in an August since 2008, according to data published today by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy.

The Department headed by Yolanda Díaz has highlighted that, for 25 years, unemployment has risen in August due to "the seasonal cycles of the production model." Thus, in seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment fell in August of this year by 23,373 people.

The rise in unemployment in August of this year is lower than that experienced in the same month of 2022, when unemployment increased by 40,428 people. It contrasts, on the other hand, with the decrease in August 2021, when the return to normality after the pandemic led to a drop in unemployment of 82,583 people. Except for 2021, the rise in unemployment in August of this year is the lowest in this month since 2016.

Since the beginning of the comparable historical series, in 1996, unemployment has fallen six times in August and has risen 22 times, especially in 2008, when the financial crisis led unemployment to increase by more than 103,000 people.

In the last year, unemployment has accumulated a decrease of 221,540 unemployed, which is 7.6% less, with a decline in female unemployment of 121,560 women (-7%) and a fall in male unemployment of 99,980 men (-8, 5%).

Unemployment fell in August in agriculture, with 2,874 fewer unemployed than in July (-2.7%), and in the group without previous employment, where it decreased by 2,672 people (-1.1%). On the other hand, it increased in services by 23,097 people (1.2%), in construction by 4,792 unemployed (2.3%) and in industry, which added 2,483 unemployed compared to the previous month (1.2%).

By age, unemployment among young people under 25 years of age increased by 2.1% in August, with 3,919 more unemployed than at the end of July, while unemployment among people aged 25 and over increased by 20,907 unemployed ( 0 .8%).

Work has highlighted that the total number of unemployed under 25 years of age reached 187,597 unemployed at the end of August, accumulating 28 consecutive months of year-on-year declines.

For its part, registered unemployment among foreigners decreased by 1,924 unemployed compared to the previous month (-0.6%), until the total number of unemployed immigrants stood at 336,159, which means 20,617 fewer unemployed than a year earlier (-5 .8%).

Unemployment rose in August in all the autonomous communities except La Rioja, where it fell by 49 people. The greatest increases occurred in Catalonia (7,516 unemployed), the Valencian Community (3,190 unemployed) and Andalusia (2,882 unemployed).

In percentage terms, however, the most intense increases were recorded by the Balearic Islands (3.3%) and the Basque Country and Catalonia (2.3% in both cases).

As for the provinces, unemployment fell in seven of them in August, especially in Huelva (-405 unemployed) and León (-288), and increased in 45, mainly in Barcelona (5,431 unemployed), Madrid (2,806) and Valencia (1,740).