If January is always bad in terms of employment, February usually makes up for it with a positive trend, but this year’s result is particularly outstanding. The labor market added 103,000 jobs, which is the best February since 2007, when we were in the middle of the real estate bubble. In addition, the creation of jobs is also accompanied by a reduction in unemployment, with 7,452 fewer registered unemployed. It’s also good data in a month when results tend to fluctuate. Last year, for example, unemployment increased.
The sectors that have most influenced the creation of jobs have been hospitality and education, with 29,000 new affiliates each. The hospitality industry was one of the sectors most punished in January, and now it is resurfacing strongly. It is due to the extreme seasonality of the sector. In education, the increase is particularly focused on private academies.
They are followed in the increase in affiliates by construction, with 18,000, and at a further distance, manufacturing, with 13,000 more. On the other hand, in the opposite direction, the most important losses of affiliates are registered in healthcare and trade, with around 10,000 fewer each.
In this way, the total number of affiliates stands at 20.7 million, the highest figure for a February in the entire historical series. The 103,000 jobs created in February exceed the 89,000 in the same month last year, which was already a good year, and those of previous years. As we pointed out, you have to go back to 2007 to find a better second month of the year.
“All this has made the labor market more solid than ever, even if it is punished by many variables that have a negative impact on it”, stated the Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, when he presented the data.
The good rate of employment is more prominent among women. In February, 9.7 million members were registered and from the Social Security they point out that more than half of the jobs created in the last year correspond to women. They currently account for 47.3% of the total membership. “The structural discrimination gap that women suffer is closing,” said the Secretary of State for Social Security, Borja Suárez.
On the other hand, the percentage of affiliates with an indefinite contract remains at 87.3%, a fact that represents the historical maximum, while leaving temporary employment at a reduced 12.7%.
In terms of unemployment, February closes with 7,452 less unemployed, which is a better figure than the same month last year, when there was an increase of 2,600. In this area, February is a very fluctuating month. The last few years, if we except 2021, which saw a very high increase of 44,000 unemployed, some years have been combined with increases of between 2,000 and 3,000 unemployed, with a majority in which the rate was reduced.
In this way, the total number of unemployed stands at 2.7 million, the lowest figure this month since 2008. The biggest decrease is in services (with 8,500 fewer), followed at a distance by construction, industry and very slightly in agriculture. By community, there is a decrease in eleven autonomous regions, with a special mention in Andalusia, which accounts for more than half of the total reduction, with 4,100 fewer unemployed.
