Unemployment in the Balearics fell by 7.8% in April compared with the same month last year, while employment (registrations with social security) increased by just over three per cent. The number of people unemployed last month was 24,546, the lowest for an April since records began. The employment figure was the highest ever for an April - 605,630.
For the Balearic Government the figures demonstrate that the islands, ahead of the main season, have "consolidated full employment" and a labour market that combines job growth, reduced unemployment, and improved hiring conditions.
The president of the CAEB Confederation of Balearic Business Associations, Carmen Planas, points to "high growth rate during and after the Easter holidays" and is confident that there will not be disruption in the peak months of the year, despite the ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East. "Business owners are committed to quality of service in a well-positioned destination like the Balearics."
Jordi Mora of the Pimem federation of small to medium-sized business associations describes the data as "very good" and a reflection of "economic stability and business confidence". He is nevertheless urging the government to focus on the weaknesses that threaten the competitiveness of the Balearic economy: housing and the shortage of both skilled and unskilled labour.
The general secretary of the UGT union in the Balearics, Pedro Homar, welcomes the fact that seasonality and the period of economic inactivity are decreasing, but adds that the region's economic formula has shortcomings that are generating a "clear social recession".
Maria Àngels Aguiló of the CCOO union argues that "in a region where it is more difficult to have a home than a job, positive data on job creation and a decrease in unemployment are of no consequence to the working class". "Right now, the concern is not the lack of work, but being able to pay for basic necessities. The Balearics model is unsustainable and worrying."