Spain lost one million jobs between April and June this year, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported on Tuesday.
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The INE estimates that 15.3 percent of the economically active population was left unemployed, which represents an increment of 55.000 people, the most significant quarterly decline in the history of the publications.
According to the organization, the leading causes for the rise in unemployment are the lockdowns and the closing of businesses, which has not allowed 1.628.500 people to seek for a job despite being available to work.
The main sectors affected are services, with 816.900 jobs less, an industry which reported a drop of 127.000 in occupation, as well as construction and agriculture, which record a loss in 108.700 and 21.400 positions, respectively.
#EPA 2T/2020 El paro crece en 55.000 personas
— INE España (@es_INE) July 28, 2020
La tasa de paro se sitúa en 15,33%
No todos los que pierden su empleo se clasifican como parados según definición #OIT, una parte se clasifica como inactivos, que aumentan en 1.062.800 personas
Nota prensa https://t.co/clk6TJMRmI
Not all those who lose their jobs are classified as unemployed according to #OIT definition, a part is classified as inactive, which increased by 1,062,800 people."
Furthermore, unemployment has mainly increased across Spain but the Balearic Islands, where employment grew by 9.200 new jobs.
However, the regions of Cataluña, followed by Andalucía and the Community of Madrid, remain the hardest hit by the unemployment unleashed in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To tackle the economic impact, the government of Pedro Sánchez has implemented a scheme of job protections known as ERTE by which, although the business is temporarily closed, the company-worker contractual link is maintained. It is mandatory to reinstate the worker to the same job, once the legal causes -in these cases the pandemic- have ceased, among other guarantees.
Particularly INE reveals that women and people aged 16 to 24 years old are the most affected by the loss of temporary jobs.
The numbers support the deepening of gender inequality in Spain, a topic that the Central Bank of Spain warned about on its annual report. On June 30, 2020, the institution said that women and people under 35 years old would be the hardest hit in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic as the sectors where they work will take the longest to recover.
It is estimated that 44% of women and 48% of those under 35 years of age in Spain occupy the sectors of hospitality, commerce, education, artistic and recreational activities, most of them halted as the country faces a second wave of COVID-19 infections.