Seasonally adjusted national insurance figures show 81,808 contributors more in February

The number of national insurance contributors increased by 81,808 people in February in seasonally adjusted terms and exceeded 20.3 million contributors for the first time (20,380,428). This increase is well above the average change over the past three months of 23,713.

So far this year, 140,000 more people have been employed, while a comparison with pre-pandemic levels shows an increase of 920,948 contributors.

Employment in innovative activities remains buoyant

Employment growth is notable in high value-added sectors, such as Information Technology and Telecommunications, where the number of employees has grown by 20.2% compared to before the pandemic, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, which grew by 11.8%. One out of every four contributors enters these highly productive sectors.

All Regional Governments have recorded higher employment levels than before the pandemic. Of particular note is the increase in contributors in the southern half of the country and in the groups of islands, with an increase in employment of over 5.5%.

2.5 million more contributors on permanent contracts

Fourteen months after the entry into force of the labour reform, its positive effects on stabilising employment and improving its quality can be clearly seen. In February, the percentage of contributors on temporary contracts fell to an all-time low of 14% of contributors (before the reform, the average was 30%). In the case of those under 30 years of age, temporary employment has fallen by 30 points, from 53% to 22%. Overall, there are now 2.5 million more contributors on permanent contracts now than in December 2021, the last month before the reform came into force.

The shift towards more stable forms of employment is particularly noticeable among younger workers: four out of five under 30s (78%, or 2,034,062 people) now have a permanent contract, compared with one in two before the reform (47% in the 2017-2021 average).

One out of every two temporary contracts becomes permanent

Half of the people on temporary contracts between January and March 2022 who are still national insurance contributors (over 4 million employed people) have been moved over to permanent contracts. Specifically, of these 4 million contributors, 53% are on permanent contracts: the vast majority are ordinary permanent contracts (1,736,966) and 407,688 are permanent seasonal contracts.

Another indicator of the increase in stability is that the average duration of contracts that have been terminated since the entry into force of the labour reform has increased by 50 days compared with the figures for 2019, the last comparable year prior to the impact of the pandemic.

On the other hand, the number of workers undergoing Temporary Redundancy is at minimum levels at close to 13,000 employed people.

Average contributors

Finally, without the seasonal adjustment, the average number of national insurance contributors increased by 88,918 in February, a month-on-month increase of 0.44% and growing by 2.4% compared with February last year.

The average number of contributors thus stands at 20,170,142 (10,683,573 men and 9,486,570 women), which is the highest figure in the historical series for the month of February. This is 475,870 more than a year ago.

Non official translation