Unemployment in the Balearic Islands fell by almost 5% in the second quarter, while employment rose by 2.6%.

PalmThe number of employed people in the Balearic Islands rose by 16,400 in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 646,300 employees, a 2.61% increase, while unemployment fell by 2,700, representing a 4.94% drop to 51,700. Unemployment fell by 44,500 people in the second quarter in the Balearic Islands, reaching 51,700 unemployed, a 46.25% decrease compared to the previous quarter, according to data from the Active Population Survey (EPA) published this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). With the decrease in the second quarter, the unemployment rate in the region stands at 7.41%.

This unemployment figure is the lowest for a second quarter since 2023. Since the start of the INE series, unemployment has fallen in the second quarter on every occasion. In the second quarter, 91,800 jobs were created in the Balearic Islands, and the total number of employed people reached 646,300, the highest employment figure for a second quarter since records began.

Female unemployment

By sex, female unemployment fell by 28,600 women (-54.6%), compared to an increase in male unemployment of 15,900 unemployed (+36.3%).

With these data, the number of unemployed women stood at 23,800 and the female unemployment rate at 7.17%. Meanwhile, 27,900 men were unemployed at the end of the quarter, with a male unemployment rate of 7.62%.

Regarding young people, the number of unemployed people under 25 in the Balearic Islands fell by 6,300 people in the last three months, bringing the youth unemployment rate to 13.99%.

State data

At the national level, the labor market added 503,300 new employees between April and June, mainly in the services sector, surpassing 22 million registered workers for the first time (22,268,700) and marking another all-time high.

The number of unemployed fell by 236,100 to 2,553,100, and the unemployment rate fell one point to 10.29%, all figures similar to those of mid-2008.

In addition, the labor force participation rate reached 24.8 million people, the highest figure in the historical series, with another 267,200 people working or looking for work this quarter.

CCOO regrets that job insecurity continues

For its part, CCOO Baleares has lamented the continued job insecurity in the region despite more people working. In a statement, the union asserted that the EPA figures correspond to the usual annual figures for the start of tourism activity in the region, "which this year is once again very good."

Thus, they indicate a significant decrease in the number of unemployed and an increase in Social Security registrations, which allow for a positive assessment when compared to the previous year and the rest of the country. However, they add that "we are reaching the limit of improvement and must act quickly and decisively."

Furthermore, they insist that these figures contrast with the structural deficiencies faced by workers in the Balearic Islands and emphasize that having a job should serve as a means of leading a decent and independent life. "It's unacceptable that in a land where there is so much wealth, more and more working people are being evicted from their homes because they can't live with dignity on their wages or are falling ill due to inadequate working conditions," they lamented.

Pimem: "There is still a lack of labor."

Pimem considered the region's unemployment figures to be positive, although he insisted that "there is still a lack of unskilled and, above all, skilled labor." The vice president of the employers' association, Miquel Àngel Salvà, emphasized the need to "read more deeply" and noted that several sectors of Pimem are "very concerned about not being able to meet demand due to a lack of workers."

Two other negative aspects that Salvà believes must be taken "deeply into account" in light of these positive figures are the lack of accommodation for seasonal workers and "the lack of initiative to advance, even slowly, toward stable but permanent economic diversification." "We must take advantage of these years of prosperity to boost the primary and industrial sectors, however small they may be, because in the future we will be grateful to reduce our dependence on monoculture," he said.

UGT wants more stable employment

UGT (United Workers' Union) considered this Thursday that the Balearic Islands should aim for "more stable" employment so that employment levels are maintained throughout the year. The union's general secretary in the region, Pedro Homar, insisted that the region needs an economic model that generates employment year-round and is not subject to the ups and downs "inherent to seasonality." He also called for the implementation of time control mechanisms, especially monitoring overtime, which he claims the workforce is forced to work. He recalled that this is one of the reasons why the UGT aviation sector is mobilizing at Palma Airport this Friday.