Catalonia begins the summer leading the way in job creation
For the first time in history there are now more than 3.9 million workers
BarcelonaFor the first time in history, there are more than 3.9 million workers in Catalonia. The June Social Security affiliation data, published this Wednesday by the relevant ministry, confirm that Summer has arrived with a new record in occupancy in our countrySpecifically, 24,177 new people were added to jobs, bringing the total to 3,905,458, the highest figure in the entire historical series.
Catalonia was also the autonomous community that created the most jobs this past month, more than doubling the 9,114 new registered workers of the Community of Madrid. In the last twelve months, Catalonia has added 72,745 workers to the labor market, an increase of 1.9%. "More after month, these figures highlight the incontestable fact that the Catalan economy and the labor market are solid," celebrated the Secretary of Labor of the Generalitat, Paco Ramos, during his assessment of the June data.
As for unemployment, this indicator continued the downward trend with the arrival of the hottest season. 4,435 fewer people were registered with Catalan public employment services, a reduction of 1.39%, according to data published this Wednesday by the Ministry of Labor. However, there are currently still 315,084 unemployed citizens in Catalonia. Unemployment has already fallen by 9,882 people in the last year, a drop of 3.04%. Ramos emphasized that the improvement in the labor market was even more evident in the first half of the year: unemployment fell by more than 20,000 people.
Record number of social security numbers
Across Spain as a whole, June was also a good month for the labor market. A new record was reached in social security registrations, with the daily series exceeding 21.9 million employed for the first time in history, between June 16 and 19. The average figure was 21,861,095, after adding 76,720 people, an increase of 0.35%, which is higher than in other years for the same month. On this occasion, the sector that added new Social Security affiliates was commerce, with 32,103 people, followed by the hospitality industry, with 25,590.
On the other hand, unemployment fell by 48,920 people in Spain, a monthly drop of 1.99%. However, there are still 2,405,963 citizens looking for work, the lowest figure in the last 17 years. Compared to June of last year, unemployment in Spain fell by 155,104 people, a 6.06% decrease. The Secretaries of State for Labor and Social Security, Joaquín Pérez Rey and Borja Suárez, respectively, highlighted this Wednesday the "enormous resilience" of the Spanish labor market amid global uncertainty and despite geopolitical difficulties.
Heat-related complaints to the Inspectorate
Despite the healthy labor market, the death of a Barcelona cleaning service worker on Saturday upon arriving home from work has raised concerns about the heat wave affecting the health of the workforce. Ramos explained that in recent days, the Catalan Labor Inspectorate has received 38 complaints related to extreme temperatures at work. Last year, 264 complaints were filed for this same problem. The Catalan Government's Labor Secretary insisted that the supervisory body acts "immediately and urgently" when it receives these reports. Regarding the specific case of the cleaning worker hired by FCCRamos explained that they have not received any communication from the company regarding the accident. "We are waiting for the autopsy to determine the causal relationship, which will likely be decided in court," he added.
A few months ago, the government announced a shock plan to combat workplace accidents, agreed upon with social partners, to combat workplace accidents. In this regard, Ramos announced that a set of ten measures is being finalized for unions and other business entities to incorporate, and that other actions are already underway. Even so, he admitted that the flagship measure of this plan—a body of occupational risk prevention delegates made up of pairs of union and employer members—will not be operational until after the summer because they still have to finalize the agreement.