Registered unemployment fell in the province of Lleida by 460 people during May, leaving the total number of unemployed at 14,900, according to data from the Ministry of Labor. The monthly drop was 2.99%, the most intense of the four Catalan demarcations.
The contrast is in the annual comparison. Although Lleida led the reduction in unemployment in May compared to April, the Lleida regions were the Catalan territory that reduced unemployment the least in the last year, with 522 fewer registered than a year ago, 3.38% below the level of May of the previous year.
Lleida cut 460 unemployed and led the monthly drop in Catalonia
The reduction in unemployment was spread across all sectors. Services accounted for the largest decrease, with 299 fewer people registered in employment offices, while agriculture reduced by 61, construction by 36, industry by 29, and the group with no previous employment by another 35.
Behind this monthly cut, Lleida was ahead of Tarragona, where unemployment fell by 2.59%, Girona, with 2.51%, and Barcelona, with 2.04%.
In Catalonia as a whole, May closed with 307,627 people registered as unemployed after a drop of 6,900, equivalent to 2.19% compared to April.
Affiliation added 7,552 workers with the start of the agricultural campaign
The Lleida labor market also gained affiliates. Social Security reached 219,654 workers in the province in May, 7,552 more than in April and 6,485 more than a year ago, according to the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security.
This advance is equivalent to a monthly increase of 3.56% and an annual increase of 3.04%. In Catalonia, affiliation grew by 50,034 people during May, 1.28%, to nearly 3.97 million contributors.
Hiring also increased significantly. In May, 14,838 contracts were signed in Lleida, 3,245 more than in April, representing a rebound of 27.99%, and 240 more than a year earlier, with an increase of 1.64%.
The distribution of these contracts shows the weight of seasonal work in these weeks. Of the 14,838 contracts signed, 8,290 were temporary and 6,548 were permanent, in a month that coincided with the start of the agricultural campaign.