The Confederation of Business Associations of the Balearic Islands (CAEB) has warned that the 6.9% increase in the unemployment rate in the archipelago during the third quarter of 2024 confirms the slowdown in job creation, a problem that had already been pointed out by various business sectors. The data, published today in the Economically Active Population Survey (EPA), reveal that the Balearic Islands registered a total of 43,500 unemployed, compared to the same period last year. According to the EPA, Construction has been the most affected sector, with an increase of 135.3% in the number of unemployed. In contrast, Industry has registered a 53.3 % drop in unemployment, while in the Services sector there has been a slight increase of 13.3 %. Despite the increase in unemployment, the unemployment rate in the Balearic Islands remains at 6.2 %, still below the national average, which stands at 11.2 %. However, the president of CAEB, Carmen Planas, has stressed that these data confirm the slowdown of the Balearic labor market during the main months of the season, directly affecting the confidence of several productive sectors.
Moderate growth in employment
The EPA also indicates that the number of employed people in the Balearic Islands has grown by 0.9% between June and September, while the national average reached 1.8%. In total, 661,200 people were working in the archipelago at the end of the third quarter. Planas has indicated that the evolution of employment in the coming months will be key to measure the real impact of this slowdown. “We are awaiting the data on Social Security affiliation, unemployment and hiring for November to complete the analysis of this trend,” he said, stressing that these records will provide a more accurate perspective based on official figures.
