November is usually a bad month in terms of employment, at the end of the tourist season and with businesses waiting for a rebound during the Christmas season. Nevertheless, the Spanish labour market had fewer unemployed last month, adjusted for seasonal influences. November unemployed numbers in Spain therefore looked positive.
Despite the drop in employment in November, which mainly affected the hospitality industry at the end of the high season, the number of employed people in Spain remains above 21.3 million. This is an increase of almost half a million compared to a year earlier. Employment fell by 30,051 registered people in November to 21,302,463, but this still represents a growth of 2.39% compared to the same month last year. The total number of unemployed in Spain is 2,586,018, the lowest rate of unemployment in this month since 2007.
Effect of the DANA
The data from the Ministry of Social Security also show that the DANA has not yet had an impact on the level of employment in the affected areas. In the province of Valencia, the number of registered workers increased by 11,217 compared to October and by 24,659 compared to the previous year, totaling 1,170,026 registered workers in November. The number of unemployed fell by 58 people in the same period.
However, the effect of DANA was slightly noticeable in temporary layoffs (ERTE), although the statistics currently do not include all data on workers with ERTE as a result of DANA. The Spanish government has extended the period for companies to report their employees in ERTE situations.
Quality of employment
The number of temporary contracts in November fell to 756,963, which is 58.16% of the total number of contracts concluded. The Ministry of Social Affairs, led by Elma Saiz, emphasizes that the quality of employment has improved since the labor reform. Nearly 3.7 million more employees are on permanent contracts, and nearly six out of ten employees are working full-time, compared to 50.2% before the 2021 labor reform.
Declining employment in accommodation and food services
The loss of jobs in November is the largest since 2019, when it fell by 53,114 people. In 2022 and 2021, the number of jobs decreased by 11,583 and 155 respectively, while in 2021 and 2020 the loss of jobs increased to 61,700 and 31,600 employed persons. Then unemployment rose due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decrease is mainly explained by developments in the accommodation and food services sector. The sector was able to benefit from the extension of the tourist season for a long time due to the persistent high temperatures, but is now facing the termination of many contracts.
A total of 118,700 jobs were lost (-7.6%). Neither education, where an average of 27,430 jobs were added (+2.2%), nor trade (+23,300 jobs), could compensate for this decline.
Increase in number of self-employed
On the other hand, there was a notable increase in the number of self-employed people, with 3,385,663 members at the end of November after an increase of 746 members. The ministry attributes this to the increase in the sectors of information and communication and professional, scientific and technical activities. In these sectors, 21,083 self-employed people were added last year.
Differences between men and women
Broken down by gender, the number of women affiliated remained above 10 million (10,087,343), representing 47.4% of the total number of employees. That is “a historically high percentage,” according to the ministry. Nevertheless, women were the most affected by the decline in employment in November (-21,440). The number of employed men fell to 11,215,119, while the number of men became 8,611 unemployed.
Unemployment down in all sectors of the economy
Unemployment fell in all sectors of the economy, especially in the services sector, with 8,693 fewer unemployed, representing 54% of the total. This results in a historically high number of employed people in November and a continuous improvement in the labour market.
Reaction from the opposition
The conservative Partido Popular, in turn, criticized the government’s euphoria. “We are growing more than the EU average, not because families are better off, but because we have spent a lot on public spending, but in the microeconomy we are at risk of child poverty. We are not here to be triumphant,” criticized the president of the ‘populares’, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, in an interview on Telecinco.
Also read: Spain increased unemployment benefits