Unemployment dropped in Andalucía in July. PHOTO: EFE / VIDEO: EP

Slowdown in employment and sharp rise in number of people seeking work made this July the worst in Spanish history

The government had warned that the unemployment figures would be bad, but they were even worse than expected

Lucía Palacios

Madrid

Tuesday, 2 August 2022, 12:33

Summer is normally a positive time for the labour market, but this year there has been a noticeable slowdown in employment in Spain as a whole. The government had already warned that the figures for July were likely to be bad, but they have been even worse than expected. In fact, it was the worst July since records began, even though the labour market had remained very robust for many months despite the war in Ukraine, high prices and supply problems. And autumn, when unemployment normally rises, hasn’t even begun yet.

Figures published by the government this Tuesday morning, 2 August, show that 7,366 jobs were lost and 3,230 more people registered as unemployed in July. More than 20.3 million workers are paying into the Social Security system, while the number of unemployed now stands at 2,883,812.

The government, however, is looking on the bright side. It says that when the figures are seasonally adjusted the number of people contributing to Social Security rose by 9,104 in July and employment had increased for 15 consecutive months.

Meanwhile, the unemployment figures for Andalucía, which were also released today, show that 2,263 people came off the register of unemployed last month and and it had the second-highest drop in unemployment in absolute terms. Currently, 762,539 people in the region are registered as looking for work.