Unemployment rate fell to 6.2% in July

According to preliminary data released this Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the unemployment rate fell to 6.2% in July, 0.2 percentage points below the level in June and equal to the level of the same month in 2023.

“The unemployment rate was 6.2%, lower than the previous month and three months earlier (0.2 percentage points in both cases) and equal to the level a year earlier,” the INE said in its Estimated Monthly Employment and Unemployment Reports.

According to the statistical institute, in July the unemployed population (331.8 thousand people) “decreased in relation to the three comparison periods: 3.7%, 4.6% and 0.6%, respectively.”

INE also released final estimates of employment and unemployment for June, revising downwards the unemployment rate for that month to 6.4% (6.7% according to preliminary estimates), a value equal to that of May, 0.1 percentage point lower than that of March 2024 and 0.1 percentage point higher than that of June 2023.

In July, the active population (5,373.0 thousand) decreased compared to June (0.4%) and April 2024 (0.7%), increasing compared to July 2023 (0.5%).

The employed population (5,041.2 thousand people) registered a decrease compared to the previous month (0.1%) and three months earlier (0.5%) and an increase compared to a year earlier (0.5%).

The inactive population (2,552.9 thousand people) increased in relation to the three comparison periods: 1.1%, 2.5% and 1.6%, respectively.

In July, the labor force underutilization rate was 10.9%, which is lower than the figures for June 2024 (0.1 percentage points), April of the same year (0.1 percentage points) and July 2023 (0.6 percentage points).

According to the final estimate for June, the employed population (5048.0 thousand) decreased compared to May (0.5%) and March 2024 (0.4%) and increased compared to June 2023 (0.8%), and the unemployed population (344.5 thousand) decreased by 0.7% compared to the previous month and by 2.6% compared to three months earlier, increasing by 2.7% compared to the same month of the previous year.

The active population (5,392.5 thousand people) decreased compared to the previous month (0.5%) and three months earlier (0.6%), increasing compared to a year earlier (0.9%), and the inactive population (2,525.4 thousand) increased in relation to all comparison periods: 1.4%, 2.0% and 0.6%, respectively.

In June, the labor force underutilization rate was 11.0%, the same as the previous month, but was 0.2 percentage points lower than the value three months earlier and 0.6 percentage points lower than a year earlier.