The total number of Spanish workers who were affected by an employment regulation file (ERE) during 2023 fell by 38.5% compared to the previous year, according to data made public this Friday by the Ministry of Labor. Most of this decline, however, would be due to contract suspensions, while employees who lost their jobs through collective dismissal increased by 50.8%.
The number of files of this type executed last year amounted to 5,063 and the total number of companies that carried out these procedures remained at 3,796, 41.7% less than in 2022. 135,718 of the workers affected by an ERE were Contract suspensions will be applied, 42.6% less than in 2022, but it remains the most common consequence of these files despite the fact that the number for 2023 is 100,596 people below the previous one.
Workers affected by reductions in working hours plummeted by 73.9% to 8,916 throughout the year compared to 34,173 in 2022. The total number of jobs reduced in collective layoffs, however, climbs to 36,505. strong rise experienced this year.
The collective layoffs, for their part, increased the number of those affected, with 12,290 more workers (50.8% higher). Regarding the causes mentioned by the companies, the majority of workers were affected by proceedings motivated by economic, technical, organizational or production causes (ETOP), with 168,198 employees who, however, were 40.2% less than in 2022.
Only 12,941 were included in an employment regulation file due to major causes, 4.9% less. Most of the workers affected by these measures were men, with 134,577 (75,728 less than in 2022), while 46,562 were women (37,835 less). By region, the highest number of people affected was working in Catalonia (37,281), followed by the Valencian Community (29,670), Madrid (15,595) and Andalusia (15,136).
Industry and services, those affected the most
The vast majority of affected workers were in the industrial (122,373) and services (53,497) sectors, with the number of those involved also reducing the most in 2023, 36.7% and 44.1%, respectively. . For its part, construction decreased the number of people affected by 20.8%, to 3,321, while the agricultural sector increased its number by 41.1%, to 1,948.
By type of procedure, workers in industry were more frequently included in a contract suspension, while those in services were distributed almost equally between suspension and collective dismissal. By activity and type of procedure, the 109,284 workers affected by a contract suspension in the manufacturing industry stand out, which, however, were 40% less than a year before.
Already from afar, the 7,132 employees also in manufacturing activity who were part of a collective layoff (22.6% more) and the 6,272 in commerce involved in a collective layoff draw attention. This upward trend in ERE occurs in a context of announcements of regulatory processes such as those proposed by companies such as Telefónica, Ford, Holaluz, Bayer or Sabic.
Although it was small companies, those with less than 10 employees (micro-businesses), that presented the most of these procedures, out of all contract suspensions, the largest number of those affected were medium-sized companies, between 50 and 249 employees.
