Unemployment falls below 200,000 for the first time in seven years

2016-11-03 09:00:00

In the past year there has been a record drop in unemployment in Malaga province. The latest Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA), or Survey of the Active Population, which refers to the third quarter of this year, shows that 198,000 people are now registered as unemployed in Malaga.
This figure is important for two reasons: firstly it means that the inter-annual reduction in unemployment is 38,000, which is the largest drop ever registered in the EPA records, which go back to 2002.
In addition, it is the first time in seven years that unemployment in the province has dropped below the 200,000 barrier (to be specific, it is the first timesince the third quarter of 2009).
As a result of this major reduction, unemployment in Malaga province now stands at 25.26 per cent,compared with 28.97 per cent in the third quarter of 2015.
This is the second lowest result in Andalucía after that of Almería (22.65 per cent), and it is three points below the regional average (28.52 per cent).
Nevertheless, the unemployment rate in Malaga is still above the national average, which is 18.91 per cent.
This striking reduction in unemployment in the past 12 months is not only due to the creation of employment, but also to another major factor: the figures show that there has been a major drop in the active population in the province.
Between the third quarters of 2015 and 2016, a total of 7,300 people in Malaga found work, bringing the occupied population to 585,900. This is the highest figure for employed individuals since 2008. However, on the other hand, in the past year the province has also lost 30,700 people who were previously available for work.
Why is this? The EPA has identified two very different trends which are causing the increase in the inactive population: one is an increase in the number of students (there are 15,000 more than a year ago), and 11,000 more people are now retired.source surinenglish