According to estimates in the Labour Force Survey (EPA) drafted by the National Statistics Institute (INE), employment rose by 151,000 in the third quarter of 2014 when compared with the previous quarter, an increase of 0.9%. This increase is significantly higher than that recorded in the same quarter of 2013 (69,400) and represents the highest third-quarter increase since 2007.
274,000 jobs were created over the last year, an increase of 1.6%. This rate is half a point higher than in the previous quarter and the highest since the second quarter of 2008. Unemployment fell by 195,200 between July and September, representing the largest third-quarter reduction since records began. The total number of people out of work stands at 5,427,700 and the unemployment rate fell by 0.8 percentage points to 23.7%.
By sector, the quarter-on-quarter increase in employment was mainly concentrated in the non-agricultural sector, with increases of 108,800 jobs in the service sector, 71,800 in industry and 43,500 in construction. On the other hand, 73,100 jobs were shed in the farming sector. Compared with 12 months ago, employment levels have risen in the service sector with 230,700 more jobs and in industry with 82,100 more jobs, while 5,600 jobs were shed in construction and 33,200 in agriculture. The downturn in construction slowed by 4.8 percentage points to 0.5%, while it increased by three points in farming to 4.8%.
By age group, the largest increase in employment was recorded in the age brackets of 40-45 (54,000 more jobs) and 55 or over (53,600 more jobs). As regards the professional status of those in work, the quarterly increase affected 95,700 salaried employees and 58,500 non-salaried professionals. The employment growth was concentrated in the private sector with 154,900 more jobs, while the public sector shrank by 3,900. When compared with a year ago, the private sector grew by 291,600 and the public sector shrank by 17,700, with year-on-year rates of 2% and -0.6%, respectively.
The quarterly increase in salaried employees corresponded to those with temporary employment contracts (up 122,400), while the number of those with permanent employment contracts fell by 26,700. With this result, the temporary employment rate rose by 0.6 points on the second quarter to 24.6%. When compared with a year ago, the number of workers with a permanent contract rose by 1.3% (compared with more moderate growth of 0.3% in the previous quarter) and the number of workers on a temporary contract rose by 4.6% (1.9 points less than in the second quarter of 2014).
The number of workers in full-time employment rose by 370,700 in the third quarter, while the number of those in part-time employment fell by 219,700. When compared with the same period in 2013, the number of people in full-time employment rose by 1.8% while the number of people in part-time employment rose by 0.4%. These figures represent an upturn of 1 point for the former and a downturn of 2.2 points for the latter. Following these figures, the weighting of part-time workers out of the total decreased by 1.4 points in the quarter, with the part-time employment rate standing at 15%.
Unemployment fell by 195,200 in the third quarter of 2014, representing the largest third-quarter reduction since comparable records began. With this result, the total number of unemployed stands at 5,427,700 with the unemployment rate falling 0.8% to 23.7% of the active working population. Compared with the same quarter last year, unemployment has fallen by 515,700, or 8.7%. This figure stood at 1.7% in the second quarter. The quarterly drop in unemployment has affected both men and women. The number of unemployed men fell by 138,700 to an unemployment rate of 22.5%, while the number of unemployed women fell by 56,500 to a rate of 25%.
Unemployment fell in all sectors when compared with the previous quarter, except for agriculture, where it increased by 24,200. The largest reduction took place in the service sector (85,700), followed by construction and industry (32,000 and 19,000 fewer unemployed, respectively). Unemployment among the group of people who became unemployed over 12 months ago fell by 122,300, while the number of first-time job-seekers rose by 39,700.
The number of households in which all active members are unemployed fell by 44,600 in the third quarter, and the number of households in which all active members are in work rose by 165,400.
The economically active population shrank by 44,200 in the third quarter, in line with the back-to-back decreases that began in late 2012 and interrupted in the second quarter of 2014. This figure has fallen by 241,700 (-1%) on the figure recorded a year ago, as was the case in the previous quarter. The main factor influencing this result is the falling size of the foreign workforce. The quarter-on-quarter fall in the economically active population and the stabilisation of the population aged 16 or over has translated into a slight reduction in the rate of activity to 59.5% (-0.1%).
The Labour Force Survey on Q3 2014 confirms the positive results foreseen in terms of the number of people contributing to the Social Security system and recorded unemployment corresponding to the same period. The number of people in work has risen in year-on-year terms for the second consecutive quarter and faster than before, the number of unemployed has fallen to a third-quarter record low since records began and the unemployment rate is falling. These figures reflect the recovery in the Spanish economy in spite of a less favourable European context and represent a fundamental boost to trends in private consumption and economic activity. This trend is expected to continue over the course of following quarters.
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