Unemployment rose by 117,000 people between January and March, which is 4.1% more than in the previous quarter, while employment fell by 139,700 jobs (0.6%), registering in both cases its worst data in a first quarter since 2020, with the arrival of Covid, the INE (National Employment Institute) reported on Friday.
After rising by 117,000 people in the first three months of the year, the unemployment rate stood at 12.29% of the active population, which is five tenths more than in the last quarter. This brings the number of unemployed in the EPA to 2,977,900.
By contrast, the total number of employed people stood at 21,250,000 in the first quarter of the year. “The volume of employed people has been consolidated at over 21 million people throughout the last year”, the Ministry of Economy emphasises, highlighting that in the last twelve months 615,800 jobs have been added.
Households with all their members unemployed rose by 49,700 in the first quarter, 5.3% more than in the previous quarter, to 977,900. In the last year, households with all members unemployed have decreased by 88,100, which means, in relative terms, a fall of 8.2%.
