Unemployment in the Canary Islands rises by 843 in March, reaching 146,499

In the past year, unemployment has fallen by 10,929 workers, a 6.9% decrease.

The registered unemployment in the public employment offices of the Canary Islands increased by 843 people in March compared with the previous month (+0.6%), bringing the total to 146,499 unemployed, according to data released by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy.

This total is the lowest March figure since 2007. Since the start of the comparable historical series in 1996, unemployment has risen in March most of the time in the Canary Islands (16 occasions) and fallen only 10 times, with the latest increase being the smallest since 2013.

Sector breakdown

• Construction: down by 56 jobs (‑0.47%)
• Services: up by 465 jobs (+0.4%)
• Previously unemployed: up by 309 jobs (+2.93%)
• Industry: up by 95 jobs (+1.83%)
• Agriculture: up by 30 jobs (+1.31%)

At the end of the month, the sectors with the most unemployed were Services (116,072) and Construction (11,974), while the sectors with the fewest were Agriculture (2,324), Industry (5,278) and Previously unemployed (10,851).

Gender distribution

• Women: 83,827 (up 78 jobs, +0.1%)
• Men: 62,672 (up 765 jobs, +1.2%)

Age groups

• Youth under 25: increased by 605 jobs (+7.7%)
• Workers 25 and older: increased by 238 jobs (+0.17%)

Unemployment rose in every province. The largest provincial increases were in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+514) and Las Palmas (+329). The autonomous communities with the biggest rises were the Canary Islands (+843), Madrid (+342) and the Basque Country (+179), while Andalusia, Catalonia and the Valencian Community saw the greatest declines, with drops of 8,836, 3,777 and 2,467 jobs respectively.

Hiring

In March, 59,639 contracts were signed in the Canary Islands, a 1.3% increase compared with the same month last year. Of these, 27,313 were permanent contracts—a 12% rise over March of the previous year—while 32,326 were temporary contracts, 6.2% fewer than a year earlier.

• Temporary contracts accounted for 54.2% of all agreements (down from 56.78% the month before).
• Permanent contracts made up 45.8% (up from 43.22% previously).