The labor market continues to hold up and closes 2023 on a good note. December takes advantage of the winter campaign and the result is especially positive when examining the year as a whole. In 2023, 540,000 new jobs were created, while unemployment was reduced by 131,000 people.
These data are reached with a month of December that adds 30,000 new jobs, which means doubling what was achieved in the same month last year, although it is well below the average for pre-pandemic years. December is a traditionally good month in terms of employment, due to the impact of the Christmas campaign and this year it has been demonstrated once again. When analyzing the month by sectors, the increase in members in commerce, health activities, education and agriculture stands out, while they are lost in hospitality, construction and the manufacturing industry.
In seasonally adjusted terms, that is, discounting the calendar and seasonal effect, 2023 also added more than half a million members, of which 23,000 in December.
“The labor market has recorded exceptionally positive behavior in 2023, with a new increase in employment in December. The increase in employment among women is especially notable, 55% of the employment created last year is female,” stated the Minister of Social Security and Inclusion, Elma Saiz.
Regarding hiring, 1,116,000 new contracts were registered in December, of which 414,000 are indefinite. Of these, 40% are full-time, 23% part-time, and 37% permanent discontinuous. If the whole of 2023 is examined, 6.6 million new permanent contracts have been signed, which the Government attributes to the positive effects of the Labor Reform.
“The conclusion is that the consolidation of the growth of indefinite contracts is concentrated in full-time hiring,” stated the Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey when presenting the data. For his part, his colleague from Social Security , Borja Suárez, has highlighted how discontinuous fixed contracts, sometimes criticized for the periods of inactivity they include, have increased relatively little during the year. “They have stabilized,” Súarez pointed out.
In reference to unemployment data, in 2023 it will be reduced by 130,000 people, which leaves the total number of unemployed at 2.7 million. It is the lowest figure for the last month of the year since 2007. In the month of December, the drop was 27,000 people compared to November. It is a reduction, but it is clearly lower than that registered in the months of December of the two previous years, 2021 and 2022. In this area, this December has been weaker.
By sectors, in December unemployment fell especially in services, with 25,000 fewer, followed at a distance by agriculture, while, on the other hand, it increased in construction (5,000 more unemployed) and industry. When examined by gender, a decrease appears among women while it increases very slightly among men. It also stands out that unemployment among young people under 25 years of age decreases by 12,000 people, which leaves it at the lowest in the historical series, with 194,000.
By community, unemployment increases in Catalonia, the most, with 3,474 new unemployed, and also in the Valencian Community, while it decreases in 14 autonomies. In absolute terms, where it falls the most is in Andalusia, followed by Madrid, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.
