The poor unemployment figures have once again set the alarm in October, which has only made the trend of the last twelve months worse. Some of the statements that have so far been adopted on the labour market in the Basque Country are unknown.

1- In Hego Euskal Herria, unemployment data are better than in Spain.

The unemployment rate in the Spanish State is 25.05%, while in Hegoalde it is 15.35%, almost ten points below. These are data from the National Institute of Statistics, which can be approved by other European countries.

But if you look at the trend, the data is not that positive. For example, in the last twelve months the number of unemployed registered at employment offices in the area has risen by 16.9% and in Spain the figure is much lower, by 9.75%.

The crisis has hit the Basque territories in the south of the Bidasoa with delays, and the contusions are now being noted. The increase in the number of unemployed in October is the worst in the last four years – 5,255 more unemployed – and we must go back to the desolate autumn of 2008 to see these figures – at that time there were 7,816 more unemployed.

In Spain, on the contrary, data have been better than last October for the consolation of a shipyard. The decline in the number of people employed has also been one and a half times lower than in the Basque Country in the last year.

“We’ve been sleeping for five years – Adrian Zelaia said in an interview with Argia – if it doesn’t continuously strengthen the differential, it puts it at risk.”

2- In Ipar Euskal Herria, unemployment is not such a serious problem.

According to data from the French statistics institute, the unemployment rate in Iparralde is five points lower than in Hegoalde, where an interannual decline was recorded. However, the Baiona Chamber of Commerce and Industry has just published an undark picture.

In Lapurdi, Zuberoa and Baja Navarra 500 jobs were destroyed in the first half of 2012. In total, 20,800 people are seeking employment in Iparralde – 14.2% more than in any case – a third party has been in this situation for more than a year. Among young people, unemployment rose by 16% and among those over 50 years of age it increased by 25%. “It’s not a lovely vision,” said House President Ander Garreta.

3- Unemployment in the Basque Country

It is similar to the European average.

The Gaindegia socio-economic observatory explained that we are up to the most unemployed countries, only ahead of Greece, Spain, Catalonia, Latvia, Portugal and Ireland.

Gaindegia, for its part, compared the data from Euskal Herria with those from Eurostat. Across the Basque Country, including the Iparralde estimates, the unemployment rate stands at 14.9% and in the EU-27 at 10.5%, a difference of 4.4 points. In 2009, the difference between the two was only a few decimals. Euskal Herria is increasingly far from the data of the European Union.

4- The weight of industry serves to maintain the labour market.

When the housing bubble erupted in the Basque Country the Gross Added Value of the construction was 9.82%, while that of the industry was almost 27% (data that can be seen in the application Atlasa.net), which has somehow dampened the flow of unemployed.

The float has begun to empty. According to the latest data provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, the sector with the highest loss of employment after the services has been that of the industry, specifically in October 955 more unemployed in Hego Euskal Herria and we have returned to the figures for 2009, with a total of 34,881 unemployed.

The year 2009 was very bad for the Basque industry because of the catharsis of the global crisis: The industry loses almost 24,000 jobs in the CAPV, according to Eustat, which represents a decrease of 9.9%; in the most industrialized regions (Duranguesado, Alto Deba.....) Industrial employment fell by 12%. The disaster was due to dependence on the export sector, which fell 24 per cent in 2009 compared to the previous year.

A similar phenomenon could happen at a time when the economic growth of the major European countries is very low. The Basque Government has announced in its Koiuntura Di-da newsletter that the Basque industry will experience a fall of 3.5% next quarter and that it will not recover until the end of 2013.

This fact, together with the measures against the workers being taken on several floors, such as the possible dismissals of Gamesa in Navarra, indicates that the industry will not be able to maintain a solid labour market.

5- Flexibility is needed to end unemployment in the medium term.

The Government of Mariano Rajoy reiterated this slogan in the spring of 2012 to justify labour reform, including the representatives of the employers, and called into question the word “flexicurity”: “Fixed hiring is much easier. Legislation hinders temporary hiring,” said Eduardo Zubiaurre, then president of Adegi, with labor reform.

After eight months, however, temporary contracts have scarcely been reduced and still account for 92.4% of total contracts.

One of the most criticised aspects of labour reform has been the lack of protection of workers in collective bargaining. If an agreement is not reached within two years, the general agreement of the Spanish State applies and is in place; that would mean worse working conditions and more redundancies.

Also, according to data provided by the CAV Council for Labour Relations, in Araba, Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia there are still 423,000 workers without renewing their agreement, three out of four workers. In Navarre, according to CCOO, there are 110,000 workers in this situation.

6- Young people still have the “mattress” of the family.

The youth unemployment rate has steadily increased. According to data provided by the Institute of Economic Studies, 34% of young people in the Basque Country do not have a job and 29% in Navarre do not.

This fracture has meant that many young people have to survive with the help of their parents. However, from other indicators it seems that this is also changing:

The annual survey of living conditions carried out by the National Statistical Institute in Navarra shows alarming figures: The 11,730 families struggle financially to make ends meet, twice as long as last year. A total of 101,763 unemployed people in Hego Euskal Herria do not receive any type of help or subsidies and 17 families are evicted each day for not being able to pay the mortgage. In Spain there are 1.7 million households in which all its members are unemployed.

This series of data shows that the problem of unemployment is much more general and that this family support or ‘mattress’ is ending with unemployed young people. In fact, in many households pensions are the only fixed income and that is being reduced as a result of the 2011 Zapatero pension reform.

7- GDP growth will improve the labour market.

As soon as the data on the October unemployment were known, Aralar asked that job creation should not be linked to the mere increase in Gross Domestic Product.

The empirical theory of economist Arthur Okun points out that in order to maintain employment, GDP must grow by 3 percent. But, for example, how can you understand the creation of 171,000 jobs in the United States in October, when GDP growth barely reaches 2%? Will it not have anything to do with the fact that Barack Obama has made tremendous public investments during this election year to promote employment?

To cope with unemployment, political will is essential, not the increase in GDP.