The longer you are unemployed, the harder it is to find a job again. This is an indisputable fact that administrations are trying to resolve with different placement and training programs. But these ventures face a formidable foe, such as the complex economic situation currently unfolding. And the state of Alicante has had its highest number of long-term unemployed since 2015, when the effects of the Great Recession dealt the final blows. They are especially 62,800 unemployed who have not been able to find a job for more than two years, 65% of them are women, this is a level where the consequences of the epidemic and the war in Ukraine have a lot to do with it. As a matter of fact, before the health crisis in 2019, the total number of unemployed with these characteristics was 42,500. increase to date has been more than 20,000.
According to the Public State Employment Agency (SEPE) statistics, to find figures above the current figures you have to go back to the years after the brick crisis, because although it broke out in 2008, it took much longer. Then There were many workers expelled from the labor market.First, those directly linked to construction, some of whom are still struggling to find work, and then those from many other industries that, as if metastasized, ended with the bursting of the real estate bubble.
The great difficulties of finding a job in such a troubled time, especially for those who had devoted themselves to their work until then and had to do the recycling process, led to a gradual increase in the number of people unemployed for more than 24 months Until it peaked in 2013, when 69,800 people were registered in the state of Alicante. From then on, enrollments gradually dwindled, and by 2015 the scale remained at 63,400.
Turning point
This was the last year that the number of long-term unemployed exceeded what exists today. In fact, the turning point, that is, the moment when the numbers started to rise again, coincided with the outbreak of the pandemic. In 2019, the bottom was reached with 42,500 unemployed with these characteristics, but just a year later, it had risen to 48,100 with an upward trend that continued to reach 62,800 unemployed accounted for in these moments, when the virus was already widespread. . At the same time, the fact that 40,900 people are women is a clear example of the discrimination prevailing in the labor market.
The epidemic clearly had a lot to do with this evolution, as was the war in Ukraine, which caused the economy to continue to show marked instability even after the worst of the health crisis was over.
The problem is that the gradual recovery in employment at the overall level has not benefited this group as the pandemic wanes. Yaissel Sánchez, general secretary of the UGT in l’Alacantà and Les Marines, describes this phenomenon in the profiles of many of these people. are usually 50 years and older. In his own words, “These are people who have not been able to return to the job market after Covid, mainly because companies prefer to hire better-educated youth. Therefore, it is more necessary than ever to implement active relocation policies and maximize education, because vocational education. Education cannot be just for the young”.
However, the union leader also points out that companies have an important role in this field, “because -emphasizes-, the talent and experience these workers have accumulated cannot be wastedHe still has a lot to contribute”.
Labora promotes recruiting programs
Generalitat promotes various programs to promote the hiring of the long-term unemployed. RocÃo Briones, director general of Employment and Education at Labora, explains that with the pandemic “there are people who have less opportunity to re-enter the job market”, which is why initiatives like Avalem Experiencia are being implemented. , with public employment plans, personalized itineraries, training courses and recruiting assistance.
Briones also underlines that special attention is given to the women’s group through the Avalem Dones program, and that a study is being prepared to rectify the situation by identifying the sectors where women are less represented.
Source: Informacion
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