Page 21 - U4SSC Factsheet, Valencia, Spain, June 2020

Innovation and Employment

Category KPI Result Performance to Benchmark SDG

R&D expenditure 0.99 %
(relative to GDP)

Patents
(per 100 000 10.23
inhabitants)

Small and Medium-
Sized Enterprises 99.88 %
(SMEs)

Unemployment Rate 13.00 %

Youth Unemployment
Rate 24.80 %

Tourism Sector 7.18 %
Employment

ICT Sector Employment 3.43 %

Valencia’s overall unemployment is in line with the historically low Spanish rate of 14.02 per cent (Q2
– 2019). While a general economic slowdown is occurring across the country, April, May and June
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traditionally do see the highest job creation in any year due to temporary hiring (particularly in the
tourism sector) resulting from the Easter holidays and the beginning of summer season. In the long
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term, it is recommended that Valencia measures and trends the ratio of temporary workers to salaried
employees as a way to analyse economic and job security in the city.

Valencia’s youth unemployment is lower than the national level of 31.7 per cent (May 2019), but
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still higher relative to the average youth unemployment rate of 14.3 per cent (July 2019) among the
European Union (EU) countries. Youth unemployment is highly indicative of a city or region’s overall
11
health, making it one of the most illustrative economic indicators.

Increasing employment levels: It is recommended that Valencia examines the factors behind its
current rate of youth unemployment, factoring in precarious, temporary, part-time, low-wage as well
as unpaid labour. The city should also commit resources for funding research, educational programmes
and employment programmes. To be successful, such initiatives would require large-scale cooperation.
Therefore, the city should look to partner with companies, other levels of governments, non-
governmental organizations and schools to invest in research and solutions to youth unemployment.

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