Unemployment fell 25,300 in December to a total of 2,560,718; 5.4% less than a year earlier

Unemployment registered in the offices of the Public State Employment Service (SEPE), at the end of December 2024, fell by 25,300 people (-0.98%) with respect to the previous month.

This brings total registered unemployment to 2,560,718, the lowest figure since December 2007.

The year-on-year decrease is 146,738 people (-5.42%).

In seasonally adjusted terms, registered unemployment fell by 9,166 people.

Unemployment by sector

By economic sector, with respect to November, registered unemployment fell in the Services sector by 21,408 people (-1.15%), among the Unemployed by 7,144 people (-2.94%) and in Agriculture by 2,019 people (-2.36%).

Unemployment increased in Construction by 4,396 people (2.26%) and Industry by 875 people (0.44%).

Unemployment by sex and age

Female registered unemployment decreased by 25,238 women (-1.62%) compared to November. The total stands at 1,531,562, the lowest figure since December 2008.

Male unemployment remains stable with 62 fewer unemployed (-0.01%) and stands at 1,029,156 men.

Compared to December 2023, female unemployment falls by 85,411 women (-5.28%) and male unemployment falls by 61,327 (-5.62%).

Unemployment among young people under 25 years fell in December by 10,903 people (-5.54%) compared with the previous month. The total is at an all-time low of 185,801 young people registered.

Unemployment by autonomous community

Registered unemployment in December 2024 falls in 13 Autonomous Communities. The biggest falls in absolute numbers were in Andalusia (-11,474 people), the Community of Madrid (-3,594) and Galicia (-2,904).

It rose in the four remaining communities headed by Catalonia (2,663), Castilla y León (563) and the Valencian Community (440).

Contracts

A total of 1,182,706 contracts were registered in December.

Accumulated contracting in the twelve months of 2024 reached 15,420,104; 24,101 fewer contracts (-0.16%) than in the same period of the previous year. This is the lowest figure since 2013.

In December 2024, 437,024 permanent employment contracts were registered, representing 36.95% of all contracts.

Benefits in November

There were 1,802,453 existing beneficiaries at the end of the month.

The coverage of the unemployment protection system in November 2024 was 74.49%. The same indicator in November 2023 was 71.10%, an increase of 4.8%. This is the highest coverage rate since 2010.

The average monthly spend per beneficiary, excluding the agricultural subsidy in Andalusia and Extremadura, in November 2024 was €1,130, which represents an increase of 63.3 euros (5.9%) over the same month the previous year.

The total investment in November 2024 amounted to 1.993 billion euros.

Non official translation