Spain registers 10,968 fewer unemployed and added 21,945 affiliates in July

The number of registered unemployed at the offices of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE, formerly INEM) at the end of the month of July fell by 10,968 people to a total of 2,677,874 unemployed, a drop of 0.41%, renewing the minimums since 2008.

The number of affiliates to Social Security has grown, for its part, by 21,945 affiliates in the month to 20,891,885 employed and reached the figure of 464,350 contributors in the first seven months of the year, which represents the highest growth in the January-July period of the series, with the exception of 2005, according to data published today by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy and Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations.

The rise in membership registered in July of this year contrasts with the fall of 7,366 contributors registered in the same month last year, although the growth is much less pronounced than in July 2021, when the number of workers rose by 91,451 people.

The department led by José Luis Escrivá has highlighted that the number of Social Security affiliates has grown by 464,350 people in the first seven months of the year and has stood at 20,705,244 workers in July, discounting seasonality and the calendar effect . "It is a job creation figure similar to that which occurred in all of 2022, which was a very dynamic exercise in the labor market. Compared to June, the employment offices add up to 16,285 affiliates. The current level of affiliation exceeds by more than 1.3 million to that existing before the start of the pandemic, in February 2020, of which three quarters are jobs created in the private sector," he adds.

The contributor/pensioner ratio reached 2.4, its highest value in ten years, while income from contributions grew up to June (latest data available) at a record year-on-year rate of 10% (8.2% if contributions are excluded from the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism, in force since January of this year).

With this growth in the number of contributors, affiliation to Social Security chains a six-month rise with July, although the increase in this seventh month of the year is the least pronounced of all. In the last year, Social Security has gained 550,920 affiliates in average values, with an interannual growth of 2.71%, a rate higher than that registered in June (2.56%).

Average affiliation rose in July in eleven autonomous communities and fell in six regions: Comunidad de Madrid (-18,132 contributors), Andalucía (-12,146), Canarias (-4,293), País Vasco (-4,220), Región de Murcia (-1,728 ) and La Rioja (-877). Membership also fell in the autonomous cities of Ceuta (-82) and Melilla (-234)

The greatest monthly increases, in absolute terms, were registered in the Balearic Islands, which added 12,912 affiliates, and in Catalonia and Galicia, with 10,931 and 10,898 more contributors, respectively.

On the other hand, the Ministry has reported that as of July 31 there were 12,227 workers in ERTE, the approximate equivalent to 0.1% of the total affiliates, of which 11,115 were in an ERTE-ETOP and 1,112 in an ERTE by force elderly.

Registered unemployment, which each month counts the total number of registered in the employment offices, unlike the Active Population Survey (EPA), which takes into account in the statistics the unemployed who are looking for work but are not registered, as students or early retirees, for example, has already had five months of consecutive falls, after the falls registered in March (-48,755), April (-73,890), May (-49,260) and June (-50,268).

Work underlines that the total number of unemployed remains below 2.7 million and contrasts the data with the rise in July 2022, when unemployment rose by 3,230 people. It does not exceed, however, the sharp decline registered in July 2021 after the end of the restrictions due to the pandemic, which led to a historic statistical drop in unemployment of 197,841 people, the largest monthly decline ever recorded.

In year-on-year terms, registered unemployment fell by 205,938 people (-7.14%). "This percentage decrease reflects a very intense drop given the stable conditions in which our labor market moves, in which the effects of the labor reform are consolidated," underlines the department directed by Yolanda Díaz in a statement. In seasonally adjusted terms, registered unemployment rose by 5,509 people.

By economic sector compared to June, registered unemployment decreased in the Services sector by 7,126 people (-0.37%), Agriculture, with 1,861 (-1.74%) and Industry, by 964 (-0.45% ) and increased in Construction 1,186 (0.57%). The group without previous employment decreased by 2,203 (-0.89%).

By segment, unemployment among young people under 25 years of age fell by 453 people (-0.25%) and over this age by 10,515 (-0.42%). Work underlines that in the group of less than 25 years old, with July, 27 months of consecutive interannual falls were registered. Among foreigners, the unemployed decreased by 7,702 compared to the previous month (-2.23%), reaching a total of 338,083 people, 22,081 fewer unemployed than a year before (-6.13%).

By province, it fell in ten of the 17 autonomous communities, especially in Andalusia (-5,166), Comunidad de Madrid (-2,926) and Galicia (-1,579) in absolute terms, and increased in the remaining seven, more in Catalonia, with 1,612 more unemployed, the Balearic Islands (854) and the Basque Country (796). By provincial distribution, registered unemployment decreased in 34 provinces led by Madrid (-2,926), Cádiz (-2,413) and Málaga (-1,554) and increased in the remaining 18, among which the increases in Valencia (1,714), Barcelona ( 1,684) and the Balearic Islands (854).

In July, 1,431,383 were registered, 224,132 (-13.54%) compared to the same month in 2022. Of these, 566,440 were permanent contracts, 119,552 (-17.43%) in year-on-year comparison. Of the total contracts managed, 39.57% were permanent, three percentage points less than in June. By duration of the day, in 220, 297 were full time; 125,284, part-time and 220,859 discontinuous permanent. Compared to July 2022, the former have decreased by 64,955 (-22.77%), the latter have decreased by 33,866 (-21.28%) and the latter have decreased by 20,731 (-8.58%).

In July there were 864,943 temporary contracts, a reduction of 104,580 (-10.79%) compared to the year-on-year, 60.43% of the total. Of these, 559,961 were full-time and 304,982 part-time. Compared with the same month of the previous year, the former have decreased by 66,039 (-10.55%) and the latter have decreased by 38,541 (-11.22%).

Expenditure on benefits, which takes into account the data from a month before the registered unemployment figures, stands at 1,692.7 million euros in June, 9.6% more than in the same month of 2022. Benefits paid since January of this year incorporate the increase in the regulatory base to 60% from the seventh month, compared to the percentage of 50% that was applied since 2012 for the calculation of the benefit. The average gross amount of the contributory unemployment benefit increased by 7.2% in June, up to 940.1 euros per month on average. The average monthly expense per beneficiary, without including the agricultural subsidy in Andalusia and Extremadura, was 1,021.2 euros, 76.99 euros more (8.1%) compared to a year ago.

The total number of beneficiaries of unemployment benefits stood at 1,694,048 people at the end of June, reaching a coverage rate of 67.18%, compared to 61.62% a year earlier. The coverage of the unemployment protection system, for its part, was 67.18%, almost three points more than in May (64.93%) and close to six points more than in June 2022 (61.62%). . 563,175 registrations were processed, 5.7% less than in June 2022.

Returning to the contribution data, the General Regime, the most numerous in the system and to which the vast majority of contributors belong, gained 26,991 average affiliates in July (0.15%), up to a total of 17,478,591 employed, while the Self-Employed Regime (RETA) lost 6,819 affiliates to its ranks (-0.2%), down to 3,344,562 self-employed contributors.

Health activities gained 49,346 contributors (2.71%), followed by commerce, which gained 41,099 contributors (1.6%), and hospitality, with 23,864 more employees (1.53%).

Among the decreases, Education stands out as usual this month, losing 110,705 affiliates in July (-10.32%) after the end of the school year. Construction also loses, with 1,886 fewer affiliates (-0.19): the Special Agrarian System subtracts 38,161 jobs (-5.54%) and the Home registers 3,567 casualties (-0.94%).

Inclusion underlines that the growth of affiliation compared to the level prior to the pandemic is "especially dynamic" in sectors with high added value, such as IT and telecommunications, which have 23.7% more affiliates than before Covid, or activities professionals, scientists and technicians, where employment has increased by 14%: one in four new affiliates (286,000 people, have joined these two "highly productive" sectors. Since 2019, it continues, youth employment has grown by 10, 3%, exceeding the average for the economy as a whole by 3.4 points, while female employment has increased by 8.6%, 3.1 points more than male employment.

From the contribution point of view, 15% of affiliates were temporary, a higher percentage compared to the previous month (14%), although it contrasts with the average of 30% before the labor reform, says this department. In the case of those under 30 years of age, temporary employment has been reduced by 28 points, from 53% to 25%. Likewise, Social Security now accounts for almost three million more members with an indefinite contract than in December 2021, the last month before the legislation came into force.

The greater stability of employment is also verified, according to the Ministry, in the fact that the average duration of contracts that have caused leave in the first seven months of this year has increased by 33% compared to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.