Employment continues in full form. If the year started with a slow January, as it should be, because it is a month in which the end of the Christmas season is paid for, February picked up, March was splendid and April was a record. Easter has given it an extra push that has made it the best April in history, with 238,436 more members and reaching a total of more than 20.6 million Social Security contributors, the highest figure since that there are records.
Regarding unemployment, the data is also very positive, with 73,890 fewer unemployed, which leaves the total number of registered unemployed below 2.8 million, the lowest figure in a month of April since 2008, is that is, 15 years ago.
“The labor market works robustly. It is no longer contaminated by economic turbulence, but on the contrary, it contributes to overcoming them”, stated the Secretary of State for Employment, JoaquÃn Pérez Rey, when he presented the data.
Going into details, in terms of membership, if in March the almost 20.4 million contributors were already a record, in April it was broken again. Specifically, last month it gained 238,436 affiliates, which represents an increase of 1.7% compared to March. It’s the largest increase in affiliates in a month in April and the second largest in absolute terms, second only to July 2005. In fact, there have been three consecutive months in which the number of average affiliates has increased, which has added more than 300,000 contributors to Social Security since the beginning of the year.
In seasonally adjusted terms, i.e. adjusted for the calendar and the season, the membership data is also very positive. In April, there were 129,000 members, so the first quarter of the year closes with the creation of 420,000 jobs.
By sector of activity, the big jump in membership is in the hospitality industry, which accounts for half of the new jobs, with 119,000 more members. Here, Easter plays an important role. The truth is that practically all sectors are up, with the sole exception of education, where there is a loss of 1,000 members, probably due to the impact of the holidays.
“We see a spectacular change that means a normalization of our labor market, which will definitely resemble those of European countries”, stated the Secretary of State for Social Security, Borja Suárez.
In addition, the temporary rate remains at a historic low of 14%, that is, less than half of the usual 30% before the labor reform. It is also significant that, among those under 30, temporary employment has reached 21%, when previously it was 53%.
Now entering unemployment, the 73,890 fewer registered in April place the total unemployment below 2.8 million. Unemployment is down in all sectors, especially in services, with 52,000 fewer unemployed, followed by industry, agriculture and construction, and it is also reduced in all the autonomous communities, with particular incidence in absolute figures in Andalusia (20,500 fewer unemployed) and Catalonia (9,500 less). Unemployment is decreasing for both men and women and also prominently among young people, where there has been a reduction of 9%.
Regarding hiring, 1,157,000 contracts were signed in April, of which 45%, 530,000, were indefinite. Of these, 40% were full-time, 23% part-time and 35% intermittent fixed.
As for Catalonia, Social Security gained 38,626 members in April compared to March, and this places the total number of employed at 3,675,703. With the third straight month of growth, the Easter boost leads to a record for an April month if you look at the historical series, which goes back to 2004. Unemployment also remains positive for a third month with a reduction of 9,506 people on the lists of the employment services compared to March, and leaves the total at 338,795, the lowest figure since 2008.
