Education supports job creation in an October that marks a record for female employment but adds 37,000 new unemployed

The labor market continues to grow in Spain, especially among women, and is supported by education for the second consecutive month. According to data released this Friday by the Ministries of Labor and Inclusion, the volume of workers has exceeded 20.82 million employed people in October, the highest figure in the historical series for a tenth month of the year.. However, at the same time the number of unemployed people registered in employment offices has increased by almost 37,000 people.

Spain touched 2.76 million unemployed in October, the lowest mark for a tenth month since 2007, but higher than that recorded in September. And in the last month the number of unemployed has grown by 36,936 people. This increase contrasts with the behavior of unemployment recorded in the same period during the last two years.. In October 2021 and 2022, unemployment was reduced by 734 and 27,027 people respectively, exceptional decreases in a historical series in which it is usual for unemployment to rise at this point in the year.

In fact, the Ministry of Labor highlights that the increase in the last month has been “more moderate than usual” and has occurred in a context in which both the active and employed population are at historic highs.. “The Spanish labor market is at maximum employment and activity,” said Minister Yolanda Díaz on the social network. You have to go back 16 years to find a month of October with a lower increase in unemployment, until 2007, when the increase was 31,214 people. In the last year, the number of unemployed people registered in employment offices has fallen by 155,488 people compared to October 2022, which represents a decrease of 5.33%.

For its part, Social Security has gained 92,862 workers in the last month compared to September, reaching almost 20.82 million average affiliates, the highest figure in the series for the month of October.. The bulk of the increase has been concentrated in the female population: the number of female workers has grown by 86,876 women compared to September, compared to the increase of 5,985 men among the male population. “Not only is female employment growing at a faster rate than male employment, but salaries are also growing, narrowing the gender gap,” the Minister of Inclusion, José Luis Escrivá, stressed in his X account.

In fact, the average affiliation of women has reached a new high in the historical series, exceeding 9.83 million employees.. Never before in Spain have there been so many women working, they represent 47.2% of the total employed. At the same time, female unemployment remains at its lowest level since 2008, despite having increased by 20,192 women compared to September, placing the total at 1.66 million unemployed, compared to the 1.1 million men registered as standing in the SEPE offices.

However, the increase in average affiliation in the last month – counting both genders – has remained below those recorded in the same months of 2022 and 2021, when 159,478 and 103,499 new employees were added respectively.. This is the smallest increase for a tenth month of this year since 2015, when Social Security barely gained 32,000 average employees.. Even so, in the last twelve months, Spain has created a total of 533,871 jobs, which represents a growth of 2.6%. “Spain registers greater employment growth than the rest of the large European economies,” highlights Inclusion, highlighting that employment has grown in Spain by 7.2% compared to the level prior to the pandemic, above 4.9%. % from France and 1.3% from Germany.

191,000 jobs in education

For the second consecutive month, education has been the great support of the labor market in October, as already happened in September due to the hiring of teachers to prepare for the return to school. Compared to the ninth month of 2023, 191,154 jobs have been created in the educational sector, an increase that has cushioned the destruction of 50,316 positions in hospitality – weighed down by the end of good weather and the tourist season -, 36,442 in Public Administrations and Defense and 33,095 in health activities and social services.

Although far from education, the artistic, recreational and entertainment activities and construction sectors have also gained workers, adding 13,413 and 11,586 new employees respectively compared to September.. In fact, construction is the only sector in which registered unemployment has decreased, by just 813 people.. On the contrary, unemployment has grown in the services sector, in industry and in agriculture by 31,281, 2,418 and 2,122 people respectively, as well as among the group without previous employment.. Also noteworthy is the incorporation of 5,439 self-employed workers into Social Security, thus exceeding 3.34 million self-employed workers, the second highest figure in the series.

13% temporary

“Twenty-two months after the entry into force of the labor reform, its positive effects on the stabilization of employment and the improvement of its quality are clearly perceived,” highlights the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security, which highlights the decrease in the rate. of temporality after the regulatory change. The proportion of employees with a temporary contract has set a new low in October, falling to 13%. The drop has been more pronounced among young people, where the temporary employment rate has fallen from 53% to 21%. “A great transformation is reaffirmed in the way our country contracts,” Díaz said.

Specifically, in October nearly 1.4 million contracts were signed – 8.4% less than in the same month of 2022 – of which 43.6% were indefinite. Of those 608,769 permanent contracts, 244,395 have been full-time, 212,376 permanent-discontinuous and 151,998 part-time. “The number of indefinite contracts created since the entry into force of the labor reform exceeds 3.1 million,” Escrivá insisted.