Spain Achieves Record Employment Numbers

Spain achieved another milestone in its labour market in June 2023, with a record high of 20.86 million people registered as employed. This figure marks the highest number of workers in the country since records began.

Unemployment experienced a decline of 50,268 individuals, surpassing the decrease seen in June of the previous year. The number of unemployed now stands at 2.688 million, the lowest level since September 2008, just before the global financial crisis. However, it is worth noting that the decline in unemployment usually averages around 92,000 people in June over the past decade.

La #SeguridadSocial suma casi 450.000 afiliados entre enero y junio de 2023, el mayor aumento en un primer semestre de toda la serie

📈Entre los días 12 y 21 de junio se superaron los 20,9 millones de trabajadores

📈El empleo crece un 2,6% interanual

ℹ️ https://t.co/s8Cly8liLg pic.twitter.com/WyUrnAOChs

— La Moncloa (@desdelamoncloa) July 4, 2023

Overall, Spain has seen a net increase of 521,000 workers and a decrease of 191,000 in the number of unemployed compared to the previous year.

However, the pace of job creation has shown signs of slowing down, with only 54,000 new jobs created in June, the lowest number since 2015.

While the increase in employment is a positive development, the growth falls short of expectations. Comparing the figures to the previous year, the number of new jobs created in the same period has halved. Over the past 10 years, the average number of new jobs in June was 88,770, making this year’s figure a significant departure from the trend.

Government officials had anticipated a potential slowdown in the labour market’s positive trajectory due to the prolonged period of growth. Despite the recent decrease in unemployment, they acknowledged that reducing unemployment from the current level is different from reducing it from the unprecedented levels witnessed during the Great Recession in 2013 when there were five million registered unemployed.

El paro se reduce el de junio en 50.268 personas, cifra más baja de lo últimos 15 años.

🔸Casi 200.000 parados menos en los últimos 12 meses

🔸3.552 jóvenes desempleados menos que el mes anterior

🔸El paro en mujeres es el más bajo desde 2008https://t.co/VqufmAFlTb

— La Moncloa (@desdelamoncloa) July 4, 2023

In terms of job creation, the Ministry of Social Security highlights that the first half of the year saw the creation of 448,065 new jobs, marking the best January-June period in the historical series. However, the monthly figure of 54,000 new jobs in June falls short when compared to 115,000 in 2022 and 233,000 in 2021. Even in 2019, before the pandemic, there were 75,600 more jobs created in June.

The Ministry of Social Security reports that the daily series of workers affiliated with the social security system exceeded 20.9 million for the first time in June. The highest number reached was on June 19, with 20,956,577 employed individuals registered.

Analysing job creation by sector, the hotel and catering sector saw the most significant increase in jobs in June compared to the previous month, with 32,260 new positions. This was followed by the commerce sector (30,084), health and social services (25,775), and administrative and auxiliary services (21,508). Notably, the education sector experienced a sharp decline in employment (51,722) due to the end of the school year, while the agricultural sector also saw a significant decrease (33,605).

The strong performance of the labour market has contributed to reinforcing the sustainability of the pension system, with social security contributions experiencing a growth of 9.7% up to April, according to the Ministry of Social Security.

https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/serviciosdeprensa/notasprensa/trabajo14/Paginas/2023/040723-cifras-paro-junio.aspx