Many Europeans not registered as they have been content with cash-in-hand
THE number of immigrants who registered as unemployed in Andalucia in March was double that of March 2008. The actual increase is 102.04 per cent and the actual number of foreign unemployed people in Andalucia is 55,825.
Month-on-month there was an increase of almost five per cent in unemployment from February to March this year, which equates to 2,618 foreigner workers. However, the real figure is probably much worse, as many foreigners do not register for unemployment benefit for a variety of reasons. The most common reason, unfortunately, is that many European foreign workers are happy to work cash-in-hand, despite being entitled to work legally. This is often not by choice, but as a result of a cash culture that extends beyond the service industry. As they are not registered with the social security, they are not entitled to receive unemployment benefit. Consequently, out of the 55,825 foreign persons registered as unemployed in Andalucia, the majority come from non-EEC countries (34,937). Nevertheless, the increase was slightly less than the regional total for March, 106.9 per cent.
By sector
Of the 55,825 registered unemployed, approximately 27,000 belong to the service industry, 14,500 in construction, 6,700 previously unemployed, 4,500 in agriculture and 2,940 in the industrial sector.
By province
Province by province, foreign unemployment in March 2009 stands at: Malaga (19,242), Almeria (12,255), Sevilla (6,684), Granada (6,351), Cadiz (4,369), Huelva (2,902), Cordoba (2,247) and Jaen (1,775).
According to the National Statistics Institute, there are 623,279 foreigners registered in Andalucia. Therefore the unemployment rate for foreign nationals in the region is nine per cent.