New employment record in Spain. The economy exceeds the historical figure of 21 million workers —21,056,700, specifically—, an all-time high to date, supported by the excellent performance of the tourism sector. This is extracted from the Active Population Survey published today by the INE, which breaks with a negative first quarter by incorporating 603,900 new employees that reduce the unemployment rate to 11.6%, the lowest since 2008.
The survey also reveals a new ceiling of the active population, which reaches the figure of 23.82 million after adding 238,600 more people until June. With this, the activity rate reflects a significant increase and touches 59% (58.97%). Data from the last twelve months show how the working population has grown by 431,700 people.
During the second quarter, more than 410,100 permanent contracts were registered, bringing the figure to 1.3 million during the last year. This quarter has also created 95,400 temporary jobs and has increased the number of self-employed workers, 97,300 more, which compensate for the losses of previous months and leave the year-on-year balance in 44,000 self-employed who have joined the system. During the last twelve months, Spain has created 588,700 jobs.
By sectors, construction (+60,900) compensates for the destruction of employment in the industrial sector (-64,500) during the quarter, consolidating the trend of recent months. Since June last year, the industry, badly affected by high energy prices and falling demand, has destroyed 50,500 jobs, in line with the bad run of the agricultural sector, which has 39,600 fewer employees, despite the small rise of the last three months (+1,500 since March).
On the opposite side are the brick, with 20,800 more hired, and the real engine of these figures, the Services sector, which has hired 606,000 people for the summer season. In the last twelve months, 658,000 people have been incorporated into jobs in the tertiary sector.
By communities, employment grows in all of them, with special incidence in the richest regions: Catalonia, with 132,700 new employees, the Balearic Islands, with 108,100, and the Community of Madrid, with 77,300. The Catalan region, Andalusia and the Valencian Community are the ones that have increased occupancy the most in the last year, supported by the increasingly long tourist season.
The number of employed grew by almost 3% compared to the first quarter, although the seasonally adjusted figure leaves that variation at 1.4%. This improvement in employment has occurred in all the autonomous communities and sectors, and essentially in the private sector, where it grows by 610,100 people compared to a decrease of 6,200 in the public sector. In the last year, the private sector has hired 524,800 people compared to 63,900 more who have a public job.
In a first assessment, the Government describes these data as extraordinary, “a reflection of the strength and dynamism of the Spanish economy that favors families and companies.” From the cabinet of Nadia Calviño point out that the data show an “increase in the active population, the employed grow and the temporality and unemployment decrease, with special incidence in youth and female unemployment, which reaches rates of 2008”.
