Latest employment data puts Malaga province jobless rate at 22.4 per cent

The first official EPA active population survey of 2021 has shown the continuing effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the jobless rate, with the figure now standing at 22.4% in Malaga province.

The EPA survey, published every three months, is generally seen as the most reliable measure of the number of unemployed in Spain.

Malaga province, including the Costa del Sol, had 610,400 in work in the period January to March, 29,100 fewer than the same three months last year. This was a 4.5% drop but excludes from the data those off work on ERTE furloughing schemes, which was just under 34,000 in March.

The EPA estimates that Malaga province had 176,400 unemployed in the first three months of 2021, 22,500 more than at the same point in 2020.

This translates into a provincial level of unemployment going up from 19.4% to 22.4% in a year.

The national average, based on EPA data, is 15.98% and the Andalusian regional average is 22.54%.

The rate of unemployment in Malaga province among women is four points higher than men (24.72% versus 20.33%).

National trends

On a national level, the number of unemployed rose by 341,000 in the first quarter of this year compared to a year ago, with 474,500 jobs lost and 133,500 fewer people active in the job market compared to January to March 2020. This excludes more than 400,000 people affected by ERTEs.

At the end of 2019, numbers out of work were falling by 3.4% a quarter. Numbers rose by 4.25% in the first quarter of 2020 with the outbreak of the virus and peaked at a 16% increase in the fourth quarter of 2020, falling back by 10.29% in the latest first quarter data of 2021.

The government is hoping that the Spanish economy will grow 6.5% in 2021.