Spain gains 22,000 Social Security affiliates in July, although the pace of job creation slows down

The labor market maintained its growth in the month of July with the creation of 21,945 new jobs and the departure of 10,968 unemployed from the SEPE offices. According to the data released this Wednesday by the Ministries of Inclusion and Labor respectively, Social Security broke a new record in the seventh month of the year by reaching 20.89 million average affiliates thanks to the push of health and commerce and despite the dismissal of teachers with the end of the school year. At the same time, unemployment fell to 2.68 million people, its lowest figure since September 2008.. However, the data delve into the slowdown in the rate of job creation already outlined in recent months.

Affiliation to Social Security registered a new maximum in the month of July, reaching an average of 20,891,885 workers, 21,945 more than in June, representing a monthly increase of 0.11%. At the same time, unemployment fell by 10,968 people, registering a total of 2,677,874 unemployed, the lowest figure in the last fifteen years.. With this monthly decline of 0.41%, unemployment accumulates five months down. “It is very positive for our country,” said the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, in an interview on TVE.

In the last year, unemployment has been reduced by 205,938 people, which represents a year-on-year drop of 7.14%. “This percentage decrease reflects a very intense drop given the stable conditions in which our labor market operates,” the ministry highlighted.. In addition, the head of Labor has qualified that, although the Spanish unemployment rate continues to be the highest in the euro area, it has reduced its distance with respect to the rest of the partners of the single currency. “When the Popular Party governed, the differential we had with Europe was 14 points, today we are 5 points behind Europe,” he said.

It is also the sixth consecutive month of job creation in Spain, although the growth rate of the labor market has slowed down in recent months. The increase in Social Security affiliation was 238,436 workers in April, on the occasion of Easter Week and the arrival of good weather as a prelude to the summer season, which boosted hiring again in May with the entry into the system of 200,411 new contributors.

The monthly advance in June was even more modest than in May, with the creation of 54,541 jobs, more than double that of July. In fact, the increase in affiliation in July is the second smallest for a seventh month of July since 2012, only behind the 15,513 jobs created in 2019 and the drop in 2022. The Minister of Inclusion, José Luis Escrivá, has downplayed that slowdown. “One cannot look at a stagnant month, in terms of job creation we have had the best first semester of the entire historical series in the last 4 decades and, after those six very good months, a reasonable July”, he said.

In addition, job creation in the last month has only benefited men. Social Security lost 41,945 affiliates in July, placing the total number of workers at 9,826,712 women. This drop was offset by the increase in male employment, which gained 63,889 contributors compared to the previous month, reaching a total of 11,107,117 workers.. On the other hand, unemployment did fall for both genders, falling by 5,135 men and 5,833 women, up to a total of 1,059,390 and 1,618,484 respectively.. In addition, youth unemployment also decreased slightly to its lowest level in the historical series, with a total of 184,038 unemployed under 25s.. July closed with 453 fewer young people registered as unemployed at the SEPE offices.

In general calculation, the increase in affiliation in the last month contrasts with what happened in the same period of 2022, when 7,366 contributors were lost, although this year's progress is less than the 91,451 jobs created in the seventh month of 2021 In the last year, Social Security has gained 550,920 affiliates in average values, which represents an interannual growth of 2.71%. During the month of July, there were more than 20.9 million affiliates between the 11th and 27th, although the average finally stood at 20.89 million contributors, thus consolidating for the third consecutive month above 20.8 million workers. “The first three weeks were a little less dynamic and perhaps it has to do with an electoral campaign environment, of uncertainty, it was natural,” Escrivá explained.

Health pulls employment

The sectors that boosted job creation in July were especially healthcare and commerce, followed by the hotel and catering industry. Specifically, Social Security gained 49,346 workers in health activities and social services, 41,099 in trade and vehicle repair, and 23,864 in hospitality. These advances offset the destruction of 110,705 jobs in education, coinciding with the end of the school period. The number of self-employed workers was also reduced, which fell by 6,819 people compared to the previous month to 3,344,562 self-employed workers.

In parallel, unemployment fell compared to the June data in all sectors except construction. The most pronounced fall was that of the services sector, which lost 7,126 unemployed, followed by agriculture and industry, whose number of unemployed fell by 1,861 and 964 respectively.. The number of people registered as unemployed among the previously unemployed group also decreased by 2,203, while construction gained 1,186 unemployed.

Recruitment slowdown

Despite the increase in affiliation, recruitment fell in July compared to the same month in 2022, when a total of 1,431,383 contracts were signed, 13.54% less than a year ago. 39.57% of these contracts were permanent, 119,552 less than in the seventh month of last year. Specifically, of the 566,440 permanent contracts signed in the last month, 220,297 were full-time, 125,284 part-time and 220,859 fixed-discontinuous. 60.43% of the remaining contracts were temporary, a total of 864,943, 10.79% less than a year ago.

“Although indefinite hiring has a greater weight in hiring as a whole than a few years ago, it is not an indefinite hiring as we would like it to improve employment: there has been less hiring this month, but the most has reduced is the indefinite full-time”, has valued the general secretary of USO, Joaquín Pérez. “Only an indefinite full-time job can be considered, unless the worker expressly wishes, a stable, decent job that provides a living. And we don't have that,” he added.

According to data from the Ministry of Inclusion, the temporary employment rate grew by one point in July compared to the previous month, with the proportion of affiliates with a temporary contract rising to 15%.. In this sense, the department headed by José Luis Escrivá has highlighted the positive effects of the labor reform on employment stability, since before the regulatory change temporary employment reached 30%. In particular, the ministry calculates that there are currently almost three million more affiliates with an indefinite contract than in December 2021, the last month before the entry into force of the labor reform.