Reyes Maroto: "The excellent tourism employment figures are a thermometer of the sector's strong recovery in 2022"

The tourism sector ended December with 2,458,032 national insurance contributors, the best figure in the entire historical series for this month, surpassing the December 2019 figure by 63,002. In year-on-year terms, the growth rate is 6.8% (representing 157,167 more workers), making 19 consecutive months of increases, according to data released today by Turespaña.

The Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, considers "that these excellent employment figures are a thermometer of the intense recovery of tourism in 2022. For the first time, the year ends with employment above 2.4 million contributors in the tourism sector, which demonstrates the strength of the sector as a generator of employment and wealth in our country".

63,002 more workers compared to the pre-pandemic period

National insurance contributors in tourism activities increased by 63,002 workers compared to pre-pandemic figures (and by 157,167 with respect to last year) and represent 12.2% of the total in the national economy.

The variation was positive compared to 2019 in almost all tourism branches, except for travel agencies. In accommodation, the number of contributors was 280,017, 4.5% higher than in the same month of 2019. In food and beverage services, the number of employees reached pre-pandemic levels, with 1,309,710 members. In travel agencies, the number of workers is still 7.5% below December 2019, with 59,429 members.

The number of salaried employees in the sector, who represent 80.1% of the total number of workers in the sector, increased by 4.1% compared to the same month of 2019, while self-employment increased by 0.4% over pre-pandemic levels.

Increases in all the autonomous communities

In December, tourism employment increased in all regions. In absolute figures, the largest increases were in Andalusia, Catalonia, the Canary Islands, the Community of Madrid and the Valencian Community. In relative terms, the year-on-year increase in the Canary Islands stands out (9.9%).

Non official translation