Recorded unemployment falls by 111,908 in May

The number of recorded unemployed at the State Public Employment Services fell in May by 111,908 on the previous month. Over the last eight years, recorded unemployment has fallen in May by an average of 82,000 people.

This means that recorded unemployment now stands at 3,461,128. For the fourth straight year, unemployment has fallen in May by more than 110,000 people.

In seasonally-adjusted terms, recorded unemployment fell once again in May, by 39,566. This is the largest fall in a month of May on record.

Over the last 12 months, unemployment has fallen by 430,275 thus increasing the pace of the annual reduction for another month, which now stands at 11.06%.

Unemployment among the under-25s fell by 12,057 (down 4.3%) on the previous month.

It should be noted that in year-on-year terms, unemployment among young people under the age of 25 has fallen by a total of 56,832 (down 17.5%), which is higher than the annual average of 11%.

By sector of economic activity, recorded unemployment fell in all sectors. It fell in the services sector by 70,994 (down 2.94%), in the construction sector by 14,907 (down 4.34%) in the agriculture sector by 11,677 (down 6.74%), in the industrial sector by 10,724 (down 3.28%) and among first-time job-seekers by 3,606 (down 1.15%).

Recorded unemployment fell in all 17 autonomous regions, with noteworthy declines in Andalusia (down 23,095), Catalonia (down 16,261) and Madrid (down 9,908).

Number of contracts rises by 16%

The number of contracts registered in the month of May amounted to a total of 2,027,569. This represents an increase of 279,120 (up 15.96%) on the same month in 2016, and is the highest figure on record for any month.

The total number of new contracts in the first five months of 2017 amounts to 8,450,938, an increase of 11.59%, representing 877,470 more contracts.

A total of 167,267 permanent employment contracts were recorded in May 2017. This represents an increase of 21,507 (up 14.76%) on the same month last year, with 40 straight months of increases in stable hiring.

In accumulated terms, 798,337 permanent contracts have been signed between January and May this year, a rise of 91,010 (up 12.87%) on the same period of 2016. This actually rises to 13.6% for full-time permanent contracts.