MADRID, 31 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The number of workers affected by collective layoffs shot up 23.7% in June compared to the same month in 2022, to a total of 2,491 affected, according to provisional data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy.

In contrast, the workers who were involved in a contract suspension procedure fell by 33.2% year-on-year in June, to a total of 7,226 affected, while the workers in a procedure to reduce working hours decreased by 24.9%, with 901 workers affected.

In total, adding the three types of procedures, the workers affected by employment regulation files (ERE) authorized by the labor authorities or communicated to them decreased by 24.4% in June in relation to the same month of the previous year, with a total of 10,618 affected.

Of these more than 10,600 workers who were in ERE in June, 5.2% (558 workers) were affected by procedures caused by force majeure, while 94.8% (10,060 workers) were affected by procedures of regulation derived from economic, technical, organizational and production causes (ETOP). While the former fell by 47.7% compared to June 2022, those caused by ETOP causes fell by 22.5%.

The Ministry recalls that when a procedure affects several work centers located in different provinces, a procedure is computed in the statistics for each province. In addition, if a company reports affected workers in different months, a procedure is computed for each month.

Of the total number of workers who were affected by collective layoffs in June, almost three quarters, 72%, belonged to the service sector. Specifically, this sector totaled 1,795 affected by collective layoffs, 36.1% more than in June 2022.

Those affected by collective layoffs in the industrial sector also increased, with 625 workers, 3.3% more than in June last year. In contrast, workers involved in these procedures fell by 31.8% in agriculture and 10.9% in construction.

In the contract suspension processes, industry was the sector that was most affected, with 5,190 employees, 38.4% less than in June 2022. In all sectors, the number of those affected by temporary suspension of employment decreased in June , except in agriculture, which multiplied it by more than two, up to a total of 303 affected.

In the procedures for reducing working hours, industry was also the sector most affected, a total of 533, 3.4% less than in June of last year.

However, construction was the only sector where those affected by an ERE of reduced working hours increased. Specifically, the 'brick' tripled in June the number of workers who had to reduce hours due to an ERE, up to a total of 33 employees.

By autonomous communities, the ones that registered the greatest number of workers affected by employment regulations in June were Catalonia (2,722), the Valencian Community (1,845) and Andalusia (1,198). In these three communities, the largest number of people affected by ERE is concentrated in contract suspension procedures.

Considering only the collective dismissal procedures, Catalonia and Madrid were the ones with the highest number of affected workers, with 725 and 633 workers, respectively.

The workers affected by collective dismissals increased in June in nine autonomous communities, especially in Cantabria, where they multiplied by more than five, and in Murcia, which quadrupled.