Employment continued to increase and accelerated again last month, after the good record in September. Spain recorded the second best October for the labor market in the historical series, only behind the rebound after the worst of the pandemic (2021). Almost 142,000 more people were added to work, affiliated with Social Security on average, and unemployment increased by 22,100 people, one of the smallest increases for this period of the year. In addition, a new record of working women was recorded, which exceeded 10.34 million, and foreign affiliates, which exceeded 3.1 million for the first time.
The final balance after the movements of the month of October leaves a total of 21,839,592 working people affiliated on average with Social Security, the highest record for this month and close to the historical maximum of affiliates reached in July.
Job creation accelerated compared to September, in which a greater increase in affiliated people had already been registered. If we consider the seasonally adjusted employment data, which isolates the seasonal fluctuations typical of the labor market, the labor market gained 64,500 workers, compared to 56,700 the previous month.
More than half a million jobs last year
Taking into account the year-on-year rate of job creation, of 2.4%, October also achieved greater dynamism and that considering that last October was also very good. Spain recovered an increase in affiliates of more than half a million people in the last twelve months, more than 507,000 on average, something that had not been achieved so far this year.
October is a good month for employment, in which many positions are recovered and created in the educational sector, which again is the one that increased affiliation the most this year (+172,216 between employees and self-employed workers).
Furthermore, this year’s especially favorable data is explained by good performance in many other activities, such as construction (with 15,300 more employees compared to September, +1.5%) and transport (+8,000, +0.9%). And also in other sectors with high added value, as highlighted every month by the Ministry of Social Security, such as around 7,000 more workers (+1%) in Information and Communications and around 8,200 more affiliated people (+0.9%) in Scientific and Technical Activities.
The sectors that usually reduce workers in October have also done so this year, but in line with other years or even with lower data. Thus, the hospitality industry lost 50,000 employees, influenced by the end of the summer holidays in many parts of the country. Health and social services activities reduced their membership by 34,400 employees, with the end of many summer substitutes, and administrative activities and auxiliary services reduced their employees by 16,800 people.
As for the self-employed, in the media focus due to the debate on their Social Security contributions, in October they increased by 9,100 affiliates, consolidating the total above 3.4 million, at historical highs since 2008. “About 70% of the new self-employed belong to highly productive sectors,” highlights the Ministry of Social Security, led by Elma Saiz.
Smaller rise in unemployment
On the other hand, the total number of unemployed people registered at public employment offices stood at 2,443,766 people, the lowest figure for this month for 18 years, in 2007 before the outbreak of the last financial crisis. Compared to October 2024, there are 158,288 fewer people unemployed, a decrease of 6% in the last year.
Registered unemployment increased by 22,101 people compared to September, an increase lower than that of the last two years and “well below the average for this month,” the Ministry of Labor highlights. “If we except the period of effects of the pandemic, it is 65% lower than the average increase for the years 2001-2024”, with an average increase of almost 65,400 unemployed people.
Registered unemployment decreased in October in the construction sector by 2,121 people (-1.2%), while it increased in Services +18,496 (1.1%), Industry +1,148 people (0.6%) and in Agriculture +1,270 (1.7%). Among the “Without Previous Employment” group, it increased by 3,308 people (1.5%), a circumstance also linked to the persistent increase in the population willing to work, the active population, which in summer broke a historical record of over 25 million people.
By sex, there are still more women unemployed and this decrease is less among them than among men. In October, male unemployment stood at 963,301 people, after increasing by 10,540 people, while female unemployment increased (+11,561) to reach 1,480,465 unemployed women. In the last year, female unemployment fell by 87,146 women (-5.6%) and men’s unemployment fell by 71,142 (-6.9%).
The Ministry of Labor highlights that the total number of unemployed people under 25 years of age is 193,798, “the lowest in the historical series in the month of October.” “There are thousands of families whose lives are a little easier today. For 18 years we have not had such a low number of unemployed in the month of October. Where before there was more precariousness, today there is a little hope,” the vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, stated this Tuesday.
Temporary work continues to decline
The creation of jobs is being combined with “higher quality” employment, highlight the ministers Yolanda Díaz and Elma Saiz, with the focus on the reduction of temporary work after the labor reform, which is still continuing.
In October, the temporary employment rate – employees with temporary contracts out of the total – fell to 12.1%, close to the historical minimum reached at the beginning of the year, of 11.9%.
“They told us that temporality was inevitable, that it was endemic to our labor market and it was not true. It was a matter of practicing public policies in favor of working people,” highlighted Yolanda Díaz.
In addition to the collapse in temporary employment, Saiz for his part has also stressed that “the days contributed are growing by over 13.6% in relation to before the pandemic and also the hours contributed, which are growing by over 13%.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
