The unemployment rate for young people aged 16-29 in the Basque Country has fallen again in the fourth quarter of 2024 to below 10 %.
The unemployment rate indicates the percentage of active people (i.e. in a position to work) who do not have a job, but are actively looking for one and have carried out a job search in the last four weeks. It does not include students who are not looking for a job or disabled persons who are unable to work.
Throughout 2024, the youth unemployment rate has fallen steadily, and in the fourth quarter of the year the rate was 9.6%, which represents a drop of more than two points compared to the first quarter.
It should also be noted that the evolution of the youth unemployment rate throughout 2024 has been more positive than that of the general population of the Basque Country aged 16 and over (which has experienced a decrease of 0.8 tenths from the first to the fourth quarter of the year), although the rate of the general population is always lower than that of youth.
If we compare the 2024 figures with the annual unemployment rates of 16-29 year olds since 2010, we see that the figure for the last quarter of 2024 is the lowest in the last fifteen years.
And if we look at the evolution of the quarterly unemployment rates of young people aged 16-29 since 2010 (available in the online statistics of the Basque Youth Observatory), we also note that this is the first time that the unemployment rate for young people has been below 10%.
As for the differences between groups, in this latest measurement, young women have a slightly higher unemployment rate than young men. The same trend can be seen among the general population, although the percentage differences between women and men are somewhat smaller.
By historical territories, it can be seen that the lowest unemployment rate has been recorded in Gipuzkoa, both among young people and in the general population. Moreover, the differences between the rates for young people and the general population in this historical territory are small.
Those data come from the Population in Relation to Activity Survey (PRA). The PRA is compiled quarterly by the Basque Statistics Institute (EUSTAT), which provides the Basque Youth Observatory with data on the population aged 16 to 29.
In addition, the data on youth unemployment rate are directly linked to goal 8 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals: "Decent work and economic growth" and, more specifically, to target 8.5. By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
