The Valencian Community closed the month of July with an increase of 7,021 unemployed people compared to June, bringing the total to 288,672. This rise represents a 2.5% increase and marks the largest rise for a July since 1996, being the fourth time in thirty years that unemployment has increased during this month.
One of the main causes of this growth has been the extraordinary regularization process for migrant individuals promoted by the central government. According to data from the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) transferred by the Generalitat, 7,322 foreign individuals have registered as job seekers in the Espai Labora. Of these, 4,635 were already counted as unemployed as of July 31, representing 66% of the new unemployed registered last month.
Despite the monthly increase, the year-on-year trend shows an improvement, with a reduction of 5,296 people (-1.8%) over the last year. With this decrease, the Valencian Community ranks as the third autonomous community with the largest annual reduction in absolute terms, behind Andalusia and the Canary Islands.
The total number of unemployed foreigners in the Valencian Community reached 58,982 people in July, with a monthly increase of 3,150 (+5.6%) and a year-on-year increase of 5,150 (+9.6%).
The province of Valencia leads the number of unemployed with 142,158 people, 3.3% more than in June. It is followed by Alicante with 115,002 unemployed (+1.8%) and Castellón with 31,512 unemployed (+1.6%). Regarding the foreign unemployment rate, Valencia concentrates the majority with 26,360 people.
In contrast to the rise in unemployment, Social Security certified a historic record in affiliation in the Valencian Community, with 2,318,138 people, 11,655 more than in June. Affiliation has grown by 4.1% year-on-year, the largest percentage increase in the country for the eleventh consecutive month. Industry stands out as the sector that best supports this trend, with the second-best annual decrease in industrial unemployment in the historical series.
