Balearics post sharpest second quarter fall in unemployment

The latest Labour Force Survey, published yesterday, reveals that nationally unemployment fell by 295,600 during the second quarter, putting the unemployment rate at 22.4%, a rate similar to how it was in mid-2011.
 Over the past twelve months, employment has grown by over 500,000 with unemployment dropping by almost 475,000. The difference between the figures has to do with changes in the numbers registered for work and so therefore in the national labour force - a total of 23,015,500.
The  fall in unemployment has benefited men more than women, with almost 214,000 of the second-quarter figure being men.
Of the national unemployment rate, there are more women unemployed in percentage terms - 24% versus almost 21% of men. Long-term unemployment (those without work for a year or longer) has also dropped - by almost 150,000.
Specifically in the Balearics, second-quarter unemployment was down by 27,200 to 103,500 in total, giving the region a 67% rate of active employment, the highest in Spain.
Higher decreases in unemployment were recorded in Valencia, Catalonia and in Andalusia, which had the highest: almost 100,000. Nonetheless, Andalusia still has the highest unemployment rate in the country - 31%.
In the Balearics, it is 16.5%. Andalusia also had the highest increase in actual employment in the second quarter. There were 124,700 more workers, some way ahead of the Balearics with the second highest rise of close on 70,000 more employed.
Approximately three-quarters of the new jobs created in the second quarter were temporary contracts (307,600) in the service sector (291,700).
Luz Rodriguez, employment spokeswoman for the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), said the Partdio Popular’s  idea of recovery was all based on temporary jobs.
“Good jobs are being replaced by jobs with a sell-by date”, she said: “more than a million people are working with a temporary contract and part-time.”
“Labour uncertainty is the Brand Spain the PP is going to leave behind, with contracts that last less than two months on average, and 25% less than seven days.”