Employment
The number of people out of work dropped by 46 and unemployment in the province has fallen for five consecutive months
07.09.12 - 11:35 -
The unemployment figures for August in Malaga showed that despite many temporary contracts coming to an end, the number of people who are registered as being out of work fell by 46. This may not be a large drop, but it is the first time in a decade that unemployment in the province has fallen in August. Malaga was the only province in Andalucía where there was a reduction in the number of people who are out of work; 10,365 more registered as unemployed in the region last month and nationally, unemployment rose by 38,179 in August.
August was the fifth consecutive month in which unemployment fell in Malaga, to a total of 192,097. Since March, 16,301 people have found jobs in the province, mainly due to summer contracts in the tourism sector but also thanks to slight improvements in industry and construction.
Despite this positive news, unemployment in the province is still 9.6 per cent (16,808) higher than a year ago and the unions insist that there is no cause for celebration. "Malaga has the fifth highest unemployment figures in Spain and in general unemployment continues to rise. Between 2010 and 2011 it went up by 4.15 per cent, so the rate of increase has doubled", points out María Auxiliadora Jiménez of the UGT union in Malaga.
There is no easy explanation for the slight drop in unemployment in Malaga province last month. There was a reduction of 1,469 in the number of people who have never worked, but a further 1,469 lost their jobs in the services sector. In the industry sector, unemployment fell by 58 last month, by 79 in the agricultural sector and 77 in construction. By gender, unemployment rose among men and fell among women in August.
The figures for Marbella show little change in unemployment compared with July. At the end of August, 14,452 people were registered as being out of work, while at the end of July the figure was 14,448, indicating that four people lost their jobs last month. This puts an end to five consecutive months of a drop in unemployment in the municipality.
