The EPA for the first quarter leaves 532,000 people employed and 117,900 unemployed on the islands

Balearic Islands have started the year with practically the same number of unemployed and employed as last year.

According to the Labour Force Survey for the first quarter (EPA), the islands have 532,200 employed people, 100 less than a year ago, and 117,900 unemployed, 800 more than a year ago.

Compared to the previous quarter, the Balearic Islands leads the rise in unemployment with 48,000 more unemployed, an increase of almost 70%, and also leads the destruction of employment with a drop of almost seven points, almost 39,000 more people out of work. The archipelago has the second highest activity rate in Spain with almost 62% and the second highest unemployment rate with 18%. In both cases it is above the average and these are practically the same figures as last year.

The Government highlights the drop in the temporary employment rate, which stands at 13.4%, half of 2019 and 4 points below the national average.

With regard to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it presents a variation of 6.1%, which could exceed the initial forecasts for the year of 3.9%.

For their part, the trade unions speak of data that show seasonality and insist that the challenge for the islands is to create employment also in winter.