March was a particularly positive month for employment. Registered unemployment fell by 48,755 people, a drop of 1.67% which, although it was not the largest monthly drop in total terms, did represent the best percentage data in the third month of the year since 2002. Social Security affiliation , for its part, grew by 152,000 people in seasonally adjusted terms and now reaches 20.5 million. It is the best record of the historical series. The labor market therefore showed signs of strength amidst the economic uncertainty caused by the Credit Suisse and SVB crises, and on the eve of the Easter campaign.
The number of people registered in the offices of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) was 2,862,260 at the end of March. Since that same month in 2008, such data had not been recorded. In the last year, the number of unemployed fell by 246,503 people, according to data provided this Monday by the Ministry of Labor. It must be remembered that the labor reform came into full force at the end of March 2022, after the three-month vacatio legis that was established in the decree validated by the Government due to the error of a PP deputy.
The drop in unemployment was especially noticeable among women. Last month it was reduced by 25,897 people, to 1,718,823. It is the lowest figure in March in the last fifteen years. Since 2021, registered female unemployment has fallen by 559,776 women. As for young people, unemployment among those under 25 years of age barely fell by 267 people compared to the previous month. Even so, it is the first time since 2014 that unemployment has fallen among young people in a month of March. On the 31st there were 215,099 unemployed, the best record in this age group in the entire historical series.
Unemployment fell in March in all economic sectors. The most powerful drop occurs in services, with 42,789 fewer unemployed. It is followed by construction, industry and agriculture. Unemployment, however, increased among the group “without previous employment” by 3,999 people, 1.55%.
All the autonomous regions, except the Community of Madrid, recorded a reduction in registered unemployment in March. The decline was led by Andalusia, followed by the Canary Islands, Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha. In Catalonia there were 2,987 fewer unemployed. In Madrid, for its part, registered unemployment rose by 1,013 people.
The total number of contracts registered during the month of March was 1,315,095. Of these, 615,674 were permanent, representing 46.82%. In addition, the Social Security data shows that the percentage of affiliates with a temporary contract fell to the historical minimum of 14%, when before the approval of the labor reform it was 30%. In global terms, there are currently 2.6 million more affiliates with an indefinite contract than in December 2021.
Regarding Social Security affiliation, March was a month where “exceptional” employment growth was recorded, highlights the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations. The 20.5 million affiliates mean that in the first quarter of 2023 there have been 291,477 employed persons, the highest historical growth between January and March in the historical series. The average affiliation to Social Security, for its part, totaled 206,410 affiliates in March, which represents a month-on-month increase of 1.02%. It is also the best data of the series. The number of average affiliates thus stands at 20,376,552 (10,778,350 men and 9,598,202 women), 542,049 more than a year ago.
The greatest job creation also occurred in sectors with high added value, such as information technology and telecommunications and scientific and technical activities. One in four affiliates joined these positions.
By territory, all the autonomous communities have higher employment levels than they had before the pandemic. The increase in affiliation in the southern half of the country and in the archipelagos stands out, with an increase in employment of more than 5.9%.
The number of workers in ERTE remains at 15,000 people. Inclusion highlights that the ratio between contributors and pensioners reaches 2.41, the highest level of the decade.
