The figures released on Thursday by the Ministry of Labour confirm a trend that has been taking shape for months. Registered unemployment fell in June by 28,739 people compared with May, bringing the total number down to 2,291,982 unemployed people. Such a low figure had not been seen since January 2008, in other words, before the financial crisis hit.
The drop is not evenly spread across sectors. Services account for almost all of the adjustment, with 28,498 fewer unemployed, driven by the start of the tourist season.
Industry follows, with 2,829 fewer jobless, construction with 1,326, and agriculture, which records a decrease of 384. There is, however, one figure that breaks the trend: the number of people with no previous employment history has risen by 4,298, a sign that those looking for their first job, or trying to return to the labour market after time away, are finding it harder to get a foothold.
By age group, youth unemployment continues to fall: 5,155 fewer young people than in May and 6,907 fewer than a year ago, taking the total to 159,800, the lowest figure in the entire historical series for this group. The year-on-year decline is more pronounced among young women, with 4,090 fewer unemployed, than among men, with 2,817.
Women, the driving force behind the fall in unemployment
Female unemployment has fallen below 1.4 million for the first time since August 2008. There are currently 1.39 million women out of work, compared with 903,673 men. Over the past month the drop has been almost 16,000 women and 13,000 men; over the past year, 72,000 and 41,000 respectively.
Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour, Yolanda Díaz, linked part of this improvement to the ongoing process of regularising workers’ status, which she said has allowed jobs that previously existed without legal recognition to “come to light” and now be counted both in affiliation figures and in the recognition of labour rights. In the case of women, the number of female contributors has increased by around 300,000 over the past year, bringing the total to 10.6 million, the highest figure ever recorded in Spain.
Among unemployed foreign nationals, the figure is also down: 342,086 people, 4,208 fewer than in May and 10,068 fewer than a year ago.
Social security registrations hit another record as retail drives the summer
Social Security recorded an average of 128,533 more contributors than in May, reaching 22.47 million, an all-time high. Once the calendar effect is stripped out, the seasonally adjusted figure also sets a record, above 22.2 million. Over the past 12 months the system has gained 600,595 contributors and shed 113,981 unemployed people.
Wholesale and retail trade lead monthly growth with 39,325 new registrations, ahead of hospitality, with 37,696, and administrative and support service activities, with 29,316. Looking at the full year, other sectors are providing the momentum: health and social services have added 78,373 members and construction, 66,280.
The number of self-employed workers continues to rise, reaching 3.47 million after adding 12,000 in the month and 50,800 over the year.
Affiliation of foreign workers has reached 3.45 million, more than half a million of them self-employed, with an increase of 86,630 people in June and 350,163 over the past 12 months; they now account for more than 15% of all contributors. The Minister for Social Security, Elma Saiz, pointed out that Spain has provided 54.5% of all the jobs created in the European Union during this period.