Improving employment figures in Spain set new records in October | Economy and business

The continuous improvement of the Spanish labor market gives cause for optimism. For another month – the eighth in a row – vital signs of employment show a recovery that is progressing at a steady pace. So much so that new milestones continue to arrive. In October, for example, there were 159,478 more people registered with Social Security compared to the previous month, regardless of seasonal factors. This job creation measure reached a total of 19,690,590 people registered last month, setting a new record for the historic series.

Registered unemployment, meanwhile, also counteracted previous trends. The number of unemployed fell by 734 people, a drop of 0.02%. If this is a lower figure than in previous months, it is the first time that it has fallen in the 10th month of the year in 46 years – since 1975. October was also the eighth consecutive month in which the number of unemployed fell, reaching 3,257,068.

Forecasts from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration with data up to October 15 estimated that there would be 91,000 new jobs in the month, a number that was ultimately greatly exceeded. Compared to October 2020 data, the number of people registered with Social Security increased by 700,226 people. Last month’s figure is also 440,361 higher than in February 2020, which was the last full month before the effects of the coronavirus began to be felt.

“We have returned to pre-pandemic employment levels,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Nadia Calviño said today, speaking on the Cadena SER radio network. “It can be said that such a rapid response in terms of employment in this crisis has been very striking and very surprising,” added Israel Arroyo, Secretary of State for Social Security.

Since February 2021, when labor market trends started to improve, the number of job seekers has fallen by 751,721. This is partly due to this unusual October – during the In the same month in 2020, unemployment increased by 49,558 people compared to September, and in 2019 the increase was even larger: 97,948.

According to Randstad Research, the unusual figures seen last month are “at least in part” due to “less negative employment behavior in hospitality and retail”, given that there is “no had so many seasonal jobs created before that are then lost. in October.”

However, the improvement in employment in Spain is out of step with the recovery in activity, which is developing at a slower pace. In addition, gross domestic product (GDP) is still eight points below pre-pandemic levels and well below Spanish government forecasts. Compared to the historical trend, the post-Covid era is characterized by a reactivation of the labor market which has accelerated faster than economic activity, placing Spain far behind its European partners in terms of GDP.

While the October figures are generally positive, they also contain bad news for young people, a group particularly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Unemployment among those under 25 increased last month by 5,867 people (an increase of 2.34%). In addition, according to data provided today by the Ministries of Labor and Social Security, of the 1,892,584 contracts signed in October, 1,682,012 (88.8%) were temporary.

“Our recruitment system is overexposed to seasonality,†said Joaquín Pérez Rey, Secretary of State for Employment. “The labor reform is decisive,” he said, referring to the plans of the Socialist Party-Unidas Podemos coalition government to restructure the Spanish labor market. “Its main objective is to strengthen the stability of employment. This is the commitment we have with the labor reform.

The health of the labor market does not appear to have been affected by the end of the summer season. Strong data from the summer months stuck into the fall, helped in large part by the now stable pandemic situation in Spain, which has seen many restrictions lifted.

The decreasing number of workers enrolled in the government ERTE leave scheme is also a factor to be taken into account. In October, the number of employees on leave was 190,718, down 48,512 from the last day of September. This shows that in many cases these are workers who are looking for new skills in order to return to their jobs. ” We do not see [workers on ERTEs] pass through the ranks of the unemployed, â€said Arroyo. “Usually they go back to work.