The first “end of the summer”, the end of August, leaves in unemployment the effects of an economy that continues to rely on tourism as its main source of growth. Thus, unemployment rose by 21,884, in almost all communities, led by the Basque Country and the Mediterranean area. This is an advance in an upward curve that tends to be more so in September, when visitors say goodbye definitively. Moreover, the Social Security lost, on average, 193,704 contributors.
Overall unemployment figures are close to those of 2008. However, “employment is more fragmented than ever. On paper, indefinite-term contracts have improved notably, with 37.47% of total contracts in August, compared to the traditional 8 or 9%. But, scratching into that figure, only 42% were full-time contracts. Thirty-four percent were permanent contracts and the remaining 24% were part-time contracts,” analyzes Joaquín Pérez, secretary general of USO (Unión Sindical Obrera).
