The end of the Christmas campaign always takes its toll in the month of January on the labor market. They are the effects of the end of the Christmas campaign, and in an economy as seasonal as the Spanish one the effects are evident. Also this year, in which the month closed with the loss of 231,250 jobs and an increase in unemployment by 60,404 people. It is the price that is always paid in the first month of the year, despite the resilience that employment is showing in recent months.
Regarding affiliation, the loss of more than 231,000 jobs in January is higher than last year, which was 215,000, and also than in previous years. You have to go back to 2013 to find a greater drop in memberships in January, with the exception of 2020, when 244,000 were lost.
It is true, however, that, thanks to the good previous trajectory of employment, the 20.6 million affiliates with which the month closes is the highest figure in the first month of the year in the entire historical series. And there are more than half a million members added than in January of last year, which represents a year-on-year growth of 2.6%.
When examining the details, it appears that the loss of jobs is widespread. It occurs in all sectors, without exception, but those that stand out are hospitality and commerce, with a drop of 45,000 jobs in each. They are the ones who most resent the calendar effect to which the labor market is subject.
From Social Security they clarify that when analyzing the loss of 231,000 jobs, it must be taken into account that the total number of affiliates grows, therefore, the drop in affiliation is also higher in absolute numbers. They point out that the 1.1% reduction in employment this January is similar to or lower than other Januarys in previous years. The conclusion is that “we do not see signs of slowdown” in the pace of job creation in the Spanish market, according to the Secretary of State for Social Security, Borja Suárez. Furthermore, they add as a complementary argument that, in seasonally adjusted terms, that is, discounting calendar and season, membership adds 38,357 more workers.
On the other hand, in January the percentage of members with permanent employment stood at 87%, its historical maximum and which is 17 points above what it was before the labor reform. In this way, the temporary employment rate has been reduced to a minimum, 13%. In the case of minors, the reduction in temporality is more intense, going from 53% before the reform to 20% today.
As far as unemployment is concerned, January closed with 60,404 more unemployed, so that the total stands at 2.7 million, which is the lowest level for a month of January since the last 16 years. By sectors, it is in services where 97% of the increase in unemployment is concentrated, while the increase is small in agriculture and industry, and in construction there is a small reduction in unemployment.
By autonomous community, unemployment rises in practically all of them, especially in Andalusia, with 20,000 more unemployed, followed at a distance by Madrid, and further away, Valencia and Catalonia. The only autonomy in which unemployment decreases is the Balearic Islands, with 600 fewer unemployed. For the Secretary of State for Employment, JoaquÃn Pérez Rey, “it has been a good January within the negative characteristics for employment that this month always has.”
Regarding the contracts signed in January, there are a total of 1.1 million, of which 500,000 are of an indefinite nature, which represents 43% of the total. Of these permanent workers, practically half are full-time, more than 20% part-time and 30% permanent discontinuous.
