End of season jobless totals announced

Alicante province sees an increase in unemployment

released this week show that overall unemployment in Alicante province has increased by 1,138 following the end of the busy summer holiday period.

During the summer months, the jobless totals fell significantly as many people found temporary work in the service and tourism sectors.

As always, once the high season ended, most of those contracts were terminated and the numbers registering as being unemployed crept back up.

The current jobless total for the province now stands at 202,665, with the majority of those registering on the list being women.

An employment ministry source said that the rise in the number of people out of work in Alicante is slightly higher than it was for the same period in 2013, when it was 998.

He added that when evaluating the inter-annual figures, fewer people in the province are looking for work when compared to the same period last year. As happens each year, people find work depending on the season.

During the summer more part time jobs are available in the service sector while during the autumn and winter, sectors such as shoe and toy manufacturing along with the 'turrón' nougat making companies, take on more staff to help cope with the seasonal workload.

Businessmen say that any future evolution of the labour market will be strongly linked to increased demand for products on a national and European level.

The CCOO and UGT unions said the number of people who are out of work and who do not get financial help is around 50% of those registered as being unemployed.

A spokesman said the majority of these people are long-term unemployed who have exhausted their rights to benefits.

He added that it is up to the government to make good on its promise and create a new benefit to help this group.