HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

Spain broke records for employment in April, with 238,500 jobs created in the month, according to data from the Ministry of Inclusion. This surge in employment was largely due to the increase in tourism and hospitality during the Easter period. Additionally, registered unemployment fell by 73,890 people in April compared to March levels, reaching the lowest volume of unemployed for the fourth month of the year since 2008, according to data from the Ministry of Work.

Social Security gained 238,436 new affiliates in April, bringing the total number to 20,614,989, which is the highest figure in the historical series. The increase in affiliates compared to March is the largest for a month of April and the second-highest in the historical series, behind only the rise in July 2005. Over the last year, Social Security has gained an average of 595,908 affiliates, representing an interannual growth rate of 2.98%, which is higher than the 2.73% in March.

Minister of Inclusion, José Luis Escrivá, called the affiliation data "extraordinary," and Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz shared his optimism. Díaz acknowledged that "Employment is growing, unemployment is reduced and permanent contracts are consolidated,” while also recognising that there is still a lot to be done to further reduce unemployment levels. She also emphasised the government's commitment to addressing unemployment and precariousness.

The services sector has been the main driver of the significant increase in employment, particularly in the hotel industry which added 119,618 new jobs in April due to Easter falling in that month. This sector accounted for half of the new affiliates in April, followed by commerce, administrative activities, and transport which respectively gained 18,713, 11,808, and 10,450 contributors. Only the education sector experienced a decline in employment, with 1,083 fewer employees than in March.

In April, the number of registered unemployed decreased by 73,890 people compared to the previous month, bringing the total number of unemployed to 2,788,370 - the lowest level since 2008. The Ministry of Labour highlights that this figure returns to the pre-financial crisis scenario, with the lowest unemployment records in the historical series. Unemployment has decreased by 7.7% over the last year, which represents 234,133 fewer unemployed.

The decline in unemployment was observed among both men and women, with a decrease of 38,756 women and 35,134 men compared to March. The number of unemployed people under 25 years old decreased by 19,848, reaching a historic minimum of 195,251 unemployed young people.

In terms of sectors, the services sector recorded the greatest decrease in unemployment, with 52,216 fewer unemployed due to the Easter week hiring. This was followed by the group without previous employment, industry, agriculture, and construction with respective declines of 7,973, 5,391, 4,296, and 4,014 less unemployed than in March.

The number of self-employed workers increased in April to 3,335,194 affiliates, with an increase of 12,959 from the previous month. However, the president of ATA, Lorenzo Amor, warned that, "The data reflects lights and shadows in the job market with an increase in affiliation, but we must be very prudent, because we anticipate that there will be a loss of self-employed this year."

In regards to contract numbers, 1,157,316 contracts were signed in April, showing a 20.2% percent decline from the same period last year. Of those, 45.84 percent were permanent contracts. Out of the total of 530,537 permanent contracts, 224,308 were full-time, 185,315 were fixed-discontinuous, and 120,914 were part-time. At the same time, the percentage of Social Security affiliates with temporary contracts remained at a record low of 14 percent in April, compared to the pre-labour reform average of 30 percent. For those under 30 years of age, temporary employment has reduced by 32 points, from 53 percent to 21 percent.

The Ministry of Inclusion highlights that these figures reflect the positive impact of the labour reform in stabilising and improving the quality of employment since its introduction 16 years ago. The data shows that out of the 4.1 million affiliates with temporary contracts in Q1 2022, who are still registered, 53 percent have converted to permanent contracts. The majority, 1.8 million, were ordinary indefinite contracts, with 394,000 being fixed-discontinuous contracts. The vehicle trade and repair sector has seen the highest conversion rate from temporary to permanent jobs, followed by hotels, construction, and manufacturing.

Source

https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/5124607/0/espana-gano-en-abril-238-436-ocupados-mientras-el-paro-cayo-en-73-890-personas-hasta-minimos-desde-2008/
https://elpais.com/economia/2023-05-04/el-mercado-laboral-cerro-abril-con-un-record-de-206-millones-de-ocupados-tras-crear-240000-puestos-de-trabajo.html