161,217 more national insurance contributors in July to total of 18,785,554

The number of national insurance contributors at 31 July stood at 18,673,847, which means that the system posted a rise of 189,577 from the beginning to the end of the month

Comparison with June

The average number of contributors rose in July by 161,217 compared with the average in June (up 0.87%), a very different figure to that recorded in July 2019, which saw 15,514 more contributors. Contributor numbers have continued recovering, a trend that began in May after the worst months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, a decline of 243,469 contributors was posted, and in April of 548,093.

In seasonally-adjusted terms, corrected by the calendar effect, there were 165,012 more contributors in July, almost one percentage point (0.9%) more than in the previous month.

Last month, contributor numbers rose in all regimes of the social security system. The General Regime, which posted an average rise of 0.92% on June, acquired 141,117 new contributors to bring its total to 15,455,918. However the Special System for Agricultural Workers posted a decline of 53,931 workers (down 7.19%), caused by the end of some harvesting campaigns. The number of contributors under the Special System for Agricultural Workers rose by 28 people (up 0.01%).

The number of workers under the General Regime in a strict sense - without the Special Systems for Agricultural Workers and for Domestic Workers - rose by 195,020 contributors (up 1.37%) to a total of 14,385,787.

The number of workers rose in all sectors of the General Regime, except Education, which saw a steep decline, as is usual in July. Seven sectors enjoyed rises of more than 10,000 people: Hotel and Catering, with 66,924 more contributors (a month-on-month rise of 5.8%, heads up the rise, followed by Health Activities and Social Services, with 43,133 more workers (up 2.66%), Trade and Repairs of Motor Vehicles and Motorbikes, with 40,816 more workers (up 1.73%), Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services, with 34,321 more workers (up 2.8%); Construction, with 22,237 more workers (up 2.64%); Public Administration and Defence, Compulsory Social Security, with 16,132 more workers (up 1.47%) and Manufacturing Industry, with 15,357 more workers (up 0.85%).

In contrast, the largest decline corresponded to the Education sector, which lost 82,789 contributors (down 9.28%), coinciding with the end of the academic year, a lower number than that recorded in the same month of 2019.

A total of 3,262,758 average national insurance contributors were registered under the Regime for Self-Employed Workers, up by 17,506 (0.54%), while 65,676 contributors were registered under the Special Regime for Seamen, up by 2,595 (4.11%). Finally, the Regime for Coal Workers posted an average of 1,202 contributors, a rise of one worker.

Comparison with 2019

Over the last 12 months, the system has lost 747,656 contributors (down 3.83%), a year-on-year decline that has moderated compared with June, when the largest number of contributors in the system was lost (down 893,361). Of this figure, 667,304 correspond to the General Regime (down 4.43%), without including the Special Systems for Agricultural Workers and for Domestic Workers. Furthermore, the Special System for Agricultural Workers also posted a decline of 33,151 contributors, while the Special System for Domestic Workers saw a drop of 27,018. As a whole, the General Regime posted a decline of 4.5%, down 727,474 contributors.

The number of contributors registered under the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers fell by 16,075 people year-on-year in July (down 0.49%). Furthermore, the Special Regime for Seamen posted a decline of 3,949 (down 5.67%) and for Coal Workers a decline of 158 people (down 11.62%).

Balance at month-end

Lastly, the balance was positive between 1 and 31 July, with 189,577 more contributors, although it should be mentioned that a big decline was posted on the last day of the month - down 177,982 contributors, since 31 July coincided with the last day of the month. Since the start of May, 277,485 more contributors have joined the system.

Temporary lay-off plans (Spanish acronym: ERTEs)

The number of people on an ERTE at the end of July stood at 1.18 million, a drop of 712,000 on the figure at 30 June, which means an average of almost 23,000 workers have come off an ERTE per day. In relative terms, the number of people on an ERTE has fallen by 39% compared with 30 June and 67% compared with its highest point, recorded on 30 April. This means that at the end of July, two in every three people on an ERTE during the pandemic have now returned to work.

Furthermore, of the 1.18 million people on an ERTE, 227,896 were on a partial lay-off plan, a little more than 20% of all workers on an ERTE, the highest percentage since the pandemic started.

At 31 July, the number of workers on an ERTE on grounds of force majeure amounted to 932,609, 624,000 fewer than at the end of June (down 40% in a month). In turn, the people on an ERTE not on grounds of force majeure amounted to 85,933 at 31 July, a fall of 87,000 people (down 32% in a month).

Geographically, the reduction in the number of workers on an ERTE has been heterogeneous. In two regions - Navarre and Cantabria - the number of workers on an ERTE has fallen by almost half in the last month, compared with drops of around 30% in the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.

Since the peaks, the reduction has also been heterogeneous. In Navarre and Murcia, more than 80% of workers that were on an ERTE at 30 April had come off this plan by 31 July. In the Balearic Islands, the reduction stands at 40% in the same period, and in the Canary Islands at 50% compared with the peak.

On average, 7.8% of contributors remain on an ERTE, although there is a large disparity between sectors. Travel agencies (with 62% of workers on an ERTE), air transport (with 52%) and accommodation services (with 47%) are those that have the highest numbers of workers protected under an ERTE.

Non official translation