Spanish Social Security system closes year with more than 19 million contributors

In year-on-year terms, December ended with an average of 563,965 more contributors (up 3.06%). Of the total, 272,449 are women (up 3.19%) and 291,516 are men (up 2.94%).

From these end-of-year figures, it is worth noting the non-seasonally-adjusted total number of more than 19 million contributors (19,034,114) following a month-on-month increase of 55,872. This is the largest December increase on record.

The number of women in work is also the highest on record at 8,826,470, an increase of 3.19% in the last year. The number of men in work stands at 10,197,695.

The number of foreign workers contributing to the Spanish Social Security system stands at 1,992,849.

It is worth noting the contributor/pensioner ratio trend (currently at 2.28), which rose by 0.05 points in December when compared with last year (2.23).

Compared with 2017

In year-on-year terms, the Spanish Social Security system posted an increase of 563,965 contributors, up 3.06%. Specifically, the General Regime posted positive results, with 513,400 new workers (up 3.38%). This rise stands at 3.68% when looking at the General Regime in a strict sense (discounting the Special Systems for Agricultural Workers and Domestic Workers).

It should be noted that the rate rose by more than 1.5 points (up 1.56%) under the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers, which translates into an increase of 49,986 workers. The Regime for Seamen rose by 1.63% (up 1,003), while the Regime for Coal Workers posted a decline of 425 contributors (down 17.52%).

Compared with last year, the number of workers has increased in all autonomous regions. It is worth noting the increases of more than three points in eight autonomous regions, as well as the growth posted by the autonomous cities of Ceuta (up 4.06%) and Melilla (up 7.7%). The largest increases were posted by Madrid (up 3.98%), the Region of Valencia (up 3.77%), Castile-La Mancha (up 3.47%), the Canary Islands (up 3.37%), Andalusia (up 3.26%), the Region of Murcia (up 3.2%), the Balearic Islands (up 3.16%) and Navarre (up 3.03%).

Monthly breakdown

The General Regime posted an increase of 80,395 workers (up 0.51%) to a total of 15,704,883, the highest figure since 2012 when the Regime for Agricultural Workers was merged as a Special System under the General Regime. By economic sector, the largest increases in December were recorded in: Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles with 26,962 (up 1.11%); Healthcare Activities and Social Services with 21,265 (up 1.42%); Public Administration and Defence, Compulsory Social Security with 7,835 (up 0.72%); Transport and Storage with 3,582 (up 0.5%); and Artistic, Recreational and Entertainment Activities with 3,478 (up 1.35%).

In contrast, the largest decreases were recorded in: Hospitality (down 13,699); Construction (down 13,472); and Manufacturing Industries (down 7,617).

It is worth noting the increase under the Special System for Agricultural Workers under Employment, which closed the year with an average 52,843 (up 6.97%) more contributors. This was mainly caused by seasonal farming activities such as the olive harvest in Jaen.

In turn, the Special System for Domestic Workers shrank by 718 (down 0.17%) to stand at a total of 410,634 workers.

3,254,663 contributors were registered under the Regime for Self-Employed Workers, following a rise of 526 people (up 0.02%) in the last month.

The Special Regime for Seamen saw a decrease of 2,333 workers (down 3.59%) to stand at 62,620. Finally, the Special Regime for Coal Workers consists of 1,999 workers (down 47).

By region, the number of workers grew in 12 autonomous regions and the two autonomous cities in December. The largest increases in absolute terms were recorded in Andalusia (up 57,034), Madrid (up 15,908), the Region of Valencia (up 5,772), Castile-La Mancha (up 7,555), the Canary Islands (up 2,724), the Basque Country (up 2,367) and the Region of Murcia (up 2,312). The largest decreases were recorded in the Balearic Islands (down 15,654), Galicia (down 3,764), Cantabria (down 1,006), Navarre (down 902) and Castile-Leon (down 814).

Non official translation