For the first year since the crisis began, the number of unemployed workers dropped according to the EPA, Spain's survey of the active working population. These results mark a trend shift that began several months ago. But the data are dubious considering that the official unemployment rate keeps rising. It is now at 26.03%.
Why the discrepancy? Even though the number of unemployed workers dropped by 69,000 since there were 691,700 in 2012, the number of people seeking work -- called the economically active population -- has dropped by 267,900. Fewer people seeking work is a big problem, because this situation will slow the recovery, particularly when many of Spain's most prepared young workers are leaving the country to find opportunities elsewhere, foreign workers are returning to their home countries and some people are simply giving up after a long and unsuccessful job hunt. The EPA shows two interesting numbers: nearly 50% of unemployed workers have not had a job for over a year and 15% of Spain's 5,896,300 jobless workers are under 25 years old.
Madrid had the worst employment numbers in 2013. It is the only region where unemployment numbers rose, largely because of its dismal tourism season. But Social Security filings rose, which is the barometer that statisticians use to gauge job growth, and a lot of people are actively looking for work there compared to other regions. Unfortunately, many of the jobs that were created are only temporary. This is an unmistakable sign that we need more policies to create jobs and change the labor market, the tax system and the pension system. Lower overall unemployment in 2013 is an important inflexion point that overshadows a significant decline in the number of citizens out there looking for work.
