MADRID, 7 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Spain lost 1,204 self-employed workers in 2022, a "bad year for affiliation" of self-employed workers, as the Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA) laments, and with only five communities with growth in affiliates to the self-employed regime.

The only regions in which self-employment increased were the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community, the Community of Madrid and Andalusia, according to ATA, with Social Security data for last year.

The affiliation of the self-employed increased by 2.8% in the Canary Islands, which added 3,747 self-employed workers in 2022, up to 138,067. In Balares, the increase was 1.9%, the equivalent of 1,798 self-employed contributors, and a total of 95,002 as of December 31, 2022.

The Valencian Community gained 1,988 self-employed workers, 0.6% more than in 2021, and accounted for 362,228 at the end of the year. For its part, the number of self-employed workers in the Community of Madrid amounted to 419,594, after adding 2,114 affiliates to this regime between January and December 2022, which is 0.5% more than in 2021.

Andalusia completes the communities with growth, with a rise of 0.3% in the year, up to 564,797, 0.3% more, which is equivalent to 1,958 new self-employed workers.

Andalusia is also the region with the most self-employed, followed by Catalonia, with 557,537, 0.2% less than the previous year, and Madrid, with those 419,594 self-employed contributors.

The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla lead the losses of affiliates to the self-employed regime. In Ceuta, 92 self-employed workers were lost in 2022, up to 3,277, which represents a drop of 2.7%, while in Melilla this drop was 2.5%, up to 4,358 self-employed workers, 111 fewer than past year.

In La Rioja, 483 self-employed jobs were destroyed, with an adjustment of 2.7%, up to 24,719 workers affiliated with the self-employed regime.

Among the autonomous communities with the most pronounced falls is also Castilla y León, where self-employment fell by 1.5%, with 2,806 fewer workers and a total of 187,395.

In both Galicia and Asturias, 1.4% of self-employment was destroyed. In the case of Galicia, this meant a loss of 2,897 self-employed workers between January and December, up to 205,912, while in Asturias 1,000 self-employed workers disappeared in 2022, with a total of 71,333.

The number of self-employed in Spain closed 2022 at 3,324,048, compared to 3,325,252 in 2021, as ATA recalls.

The president of ATA, Lorenzo Amor, insists that this is the "worst figure since 2012 and the first in which self-employed workers are lost in the last decade in net terms of affiliation on the last day."

In the breakdown by provinces, ATA highlights that in Lugo the number of self-employed workers fell by 2.3%, while in Palencia and Teruel that contraction was 2.2%. There were also significant decreases in León, of 2.1%, and in Orense, of 2%.

ATA highlights the growth in self-employed affiliation of 3.3% in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and 2.2% in Las Palmas.

In Malaga, self-employment also picked up, with a rise of 1.1% in the last 12 months, the same percentage registered in the province of Cádiz.

The number of women affiliated to the self-employed regime increased by 0.6% and added 7,816 self-employed workers, which represents 1,212,832 of those 3,324,046 of the total in Spain.

On the contrary, the number of self-employed men was adjusted by 0.4%, with the loss of 9,022, which left the total data at 2,11,214.

In the analysis by sectors, a growth of 4.5% is observed in artistic and entertainment activities, where 3,415 people joined, up to a total of 79,288 self-employed in this area.

Real estate activities are in second place, with 2,193 new self-employed workers, 4.2% more than in 2021, and a total of 53,968 professionals. Information and communication gained 2,798 self-employed workers in 2022, 3.8% more than in 2021, up to 76,162 self-employed workers.

However, Amor warns of the behavior of "the three fundamental sectors", in which "the worst figures" have been registered.

"It is a debacle in commerce, hospitality and industry with a strong loss of self-employed in the year," said the president of ATA.

The data on the last day reflect a "significant drop" of 2.6% in commerce, with 19,699 fewer self-employed workers in one year, up to 752,535. In financial activities, the registered decrease was 1.5%, with 906 fewer self-employed workers and 59,331 in total.

In industry, 2,810 self-employed jobs were destroyed, with a total of 212,820 workers in this regime, 1.3% less than the previous year.

The loss of jobs in the hospitality industry and in agriculture was 1.1%, with 3,367 fewer jobs in the hospitality industry and 2,810 fewer self-employed workers in the industry. The transport sector also lost RETA affiliates in 2022, with an annual drop of -0.5%, which means 1,102 fewer carriers in one year.