Registered unemployed rises by 79,154 people in October

The number of people registered as unemployed in Spain reached 4,526,804 at the end of October, a rise of 79,154 from the previous month. However, the increase was the smallest for that month since 2010, according to the Employment and Social Security Ministry.

October is traditionally a month that sees a rise in unemployment, given that seasonal contracts related to the summer tourist season usually come to an end around this period. Since the current historical series began in 1996, the 10th month has seen a rise in unemployment every single year. The biggest rises were seen in 2008 (192,658) and 2011 (134,182). Last year saw the ranks of the unemployed swell by 87,028 people in October. 

But the figure also marks three consecutive months of increases this year for unemployment.

Since the current historical series began, October has seen a rise in unemployment in Spain every single year

Meanwhile, October saw a total of 28,817 people sign up to the Social Security system, a rise of 0.17% on the previous month. That brings the total number of people registered to 16,690,520. That increase, however, is lower than that seen for the same month in 2013, when 55,000 people signed up. But it is an improvement on the 10th month for the years 2008 to 2012, when the number of contributors fell.

Over the last 12 months, unemployment has fallen by 284,579 people, meaning a year-on-year reduction of 5.91%. According to the Employment Ministry, that’s “the biggest inter-annual fall in the month of October since 1998.” The ministry also pointed out that the number of job-seekers has fallen by 174,534 people from January to October, the biggest reduction for that period since 1998.

Since the economic crisis hit Spain in 2008, unemployment has soared to record levels, having been exacerbated by the collapse of the construction and real estate sectors. The Popular Party government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed to tackle the problem, but the percentage of the active population that is out of work continues to hover around the 24% mark, above the 22.5% rate left behind by the outgoing Socialist administration in 2011.