MADRID, Jan 18 (EUROPA PRESS) - Social Security gained an average of 208,057 foreign affiliates in 2023, 8.5% more than in 2022, bringing the year to a close with 2,668,776 immigrant workers registered in the system , new maximum at the close of an exercise.
Of the total number of contributing foreigners at the end of 2023, 56.1% were men and 43.8% were women, as reported this Thursday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
This figure of 2.66 million employed people was reached after Social Security gained 1,112 foreign affiliates in December in average values compared to the previous month.
In seasonally adjusted terms, the affiliation of foreigners to Social Security increased in 2023 by 211,436 contributors, up to a total of 2,712,113 employed, 522,692 more than before the arrival of the pandemic, in February 2020, and 12,839 more than in November of 2023.
As a whole, foreign workers represented 13% of the total number of people who were affiliated with Social Security at the end of last year in seasonally adjusted values.
Of the total number of foreigners affiliated at the end of last year, 826,013 came from EU countries (32.3%) and 1,806,763 came from third countries (67.7%). The largest groups of foreign workers are workers from Romania (333,334), Morocco (323,143), Italy (175,743), Colombia (175,570) and Venezuela (148,928).
In addition, the system has 66,235 members from Ukraine, 18,976 more than in January 2022, before the start of the war waged in the country by Russia.
The majority of workers from Ukraine who work in Spain, around 87%, are salaried and 13% are self-employed.
FOREIGN AFFILIATES INCREASE BY 13.7% IN THE HOSPITALITY IN 2023
According to Ministry data, all autonomous communities increased their number of foreign workers in 2023 compared to the previous year.
The largest annual increases in the average affiliation of foreigners, in absolute terms, occurred in Madrid (50,640 contributors), Catalonia (39,031 employed), Valencian Community (29,402) and Andalusia (21,269).
In relative values, the most significant increases in the average affiliation of foreigners in 2023 occurred in Extremadura (17.7%), Galicia (15.3%) and Asturias (13.4%).
By regime, the majority of foreigners fall under the General Regime, which closed 2023 with 2,232,848 foreign affiliates, 83.7% of the total and 8.9% more than in 2022.
For its part, the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) ended the year with 431,696 foreign contributors, 6.2% more than in 2022. Of them, 14.8% are of Chinese nationality, followed by Romanians (10. 9%) and Italians (9%).
Within the General Regime, the sectors that gained the most foreign contributors in 2023, in relative values, were hospitality (13.7%), electricity and gas supply (13.1%), and construction and financial and insurance activities, both with an annual advance of 12%.
The Special Agrarian System (which is part of the General Regime) gained 1.2% more foreign affiliates in 2023, while the Home System added 0.3% more foreign workers.
