Hiring falls 24.8% due to the reduction in temporary contracts, while permanent contracts double and account for 44.1% of the total

MADRID, 2 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The number of unemployed registered in the offices of the public employment services increased by 70,744 people in January in relation to the previous month (2.5%) after the end of the Christmas campaign, according to data published this Thursday by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy.

The rise in January of this year is four times higher than that experienced in the same month of 2022, when unemployment increased by 17,173 people, but it is below those registered in 2021 (76,216 unemployed), 2020 (90,248) and 2019 (83,464 ) and the average increase in the months of January (81,424 unemployed).

After the rebound in January, driven above all by the service sector, the total number of unemployed once again exceeded the figure of 2.9 million unemployed, which had not happened since last October. Specifically, the first month of the year closed with 2,908,397 unemployed, "its lowest figure in a month of January since 2008," according to Trabajo.

January is a month in which unemployment always increases due to the termination of contracts associated with the Christmas holidays. Thus, since the beginning of the comparable historical series in 1997, unemployment has never fallen in a month of January. The greatest rise in this month, of almost 200,000 unemployed, was registered in 2008, while the lowest was in 1998, when 10,285 people joined the unemployment lists.

In seasonally adjusted terms, registered unemployment decreased in the first month of 2023 by 12,462 people.

In the last year, unemployment has accumulated a decrease of 241,681 unemployed, which is 6.9% less, with a drop in female unemployment of 101,378 women (-5.5%) and a drop in male unemployment of 113,303 men (- 8.8%).

Unemployment rose in January in all economic sectors, except in construction, where it fell by 3,111 people (-1.4%). The greatest rise was recorded by services, with 70,759 more unemployed (3.5%), followed by agriculture, which added 1,457 unemployed (1.3%); the group without previous employment, where unemployment increased by 1,231 people (0.5%), and industry, with 408 more unemployed (0.17%).

Unemployment increased in January in both sexes, although more among women. Specifically, female unemployment rose by 49,937 women (2.9%), compared to a rise in male unemployment of 20,807 men (1.8%).

Despite this, Labor has highlighted that this year has been the January with fewer unemployed women since 2009, with a total of 1,740,085 unemployed. For its part, the number of unemployed men totaled 1,168,312 unemployed at the end of the first month of the year.

By age, unemployment among young people under 25 years of age rose almost 4% in January, with 7,753 more unemployed than at the end of December, while unemployment among people aged 25 and over increased by 62,991 unemployed ( 2, 4%).

After the advance in January, the total number of unemployed under 25 years of age rose to a total of 203,504 unemployed, its lowest figure in a month of January in the historical series, as stressed by the Department headed by Yolanda Díaz.

Registered unemployment rose in January in all the autonomous communities except the Balearic Islands, where it fell by 297 unemployed. The greatest increases were registered in Andalusia (21,048 unemployed), Madrid (11,140) and the Valencian Community (6,776).

As for the provinces, unemployment only fell in Huelva (-298 unemployed) and the Balearic Islands (-297) and rose in the rest, mainly in Madrid (11,140 unemployed), Seville (5,319) and Malaga (4,483).

Registered unemployment among foreigners rose by 11,415 unemployed compared to the previous month (3.2%), until the total number of unemployed immigrants stood at 370,884, which means 20,670 fewer unemployed than a year earlier (-5.3%).

In January, 1,200,749 contracts were registered, 24.8% less than in the same month of 2022. Of all of them, 530,306 were permanent contracts, a figure that more than doubles (122.2%) that of January 2022.

In total, 44.16% of the contracts carried out in January were permanent, a percentage that exceeds that registered in December, when the proportion of permanent contracts was 39%.

Of the total number of permanent contracts signed in January, 236,443 were full-time, 62.2% more than in the same month last year; 173,968 were permanent-discontinuous contracts, multiplying by more than six the figure of a year earlier (558.3%), and 119,895 were permanent part-time contracts (80.3%).

Of all the contracts signed in January, 670,443 were temporary contracts, 50.6% less than in the same month of 2022. Compared to January 2019, one million fewer temporary contracts were signed in January 2023.

"The tone of stability in hiring continues to strengthen," highlighted the Department headed by Yolanda Díaz, who launched the labor reform a little over a year ago.

The Ministry has also reported that spending on unemployment benefits reached 1,824.3 million euros in December 2022 (latest data available).

"After the pandemic and despite the adverse international context, benefits resume the path of budget surplus in a much shorter period than was needed during the financial crisis," highlighted Trabajo.

The average monthly expense per beneficiary, without including the agricultural subsidy in Andalusia and Extremadura, amounted to 1,015.5 euros in the month of December.

The total number of beneficiaries of unemployment benefits at the end of 2022 stood at 1,838,199 people, with a coverage rate of 68.65%.

The benefit data is always one month behind the unemployment data, so that Labor has published this Thursday the unemployment figures for January 2023 and the benefit statistics for December 2022.