The Social Security registered 239,230 people protected by a Temporary Redundancy Programmes (ERTE) at 30 September, according to provisional data collected by the body. The number of workers on an ERTE associated with COVID-19 is thus at its lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic.
These instruments, designed to help businesses and protect employment, reached more than 3.6 million workers and their highest in 2020, meaning that more than 93.4% of them have already left this situation.
Compared to the last day of August, there has been a decrease of 32,960 people on ERTE if we consider the notification date, while if we use the discharge date, the decrease is 17,924 people (*see note at the end of the text).
Of the 239,230 people covered by ERTE at the end of the month, 76,639 - more than 32% - were suspended part-time. On average in September, 252,782 workers were registered on ERTE.
Two-thirds with Social Security exemptions
Of the total number of ERTE workers registered on the last day of September, nearly two thirds (151,605) were in one of the ERTEs implemented from 1 October 2020, extended until 30 September of this year, and which entail exemptions from social security contributions.
Among them, 99,375 people are included in ERTEs in ultra-protected sectors and their value chain, another 47,322 people in ERTEs of limitation and 4,908 in ERTEs due to impediment. All modalities ended September with the lowest figures since the start of the pandemic.
Outside these modalities, without exemptions, there are another 87,625 people who remain on ERTE due to Force Majeure or ETOP.
Sectoral and geographic concentration
Of the 100 economic activities, again this month, two, specifically, Food and Beverage Services (55,647 workers on ERTE) and Accommodation Services (32,330) account for almost 37% of workers protected by ERTE.
The number of ERTE workers accounts for 1.6% of those affiliated with the General Scheme (without special systems) with a high sectoral concentration. Specifically, the Travel Agencies and Tour Operators sector is the one that has the most workers under this protection instrument, with 30.97% of the sector's affiliates, followed by Air Transport, with 14.65%, Gambling and Betting Activities (12.13%) and Accommodation Services, with 10.53%.
Geographically, one in three provinces already have fewer than 1% of their affiliates on ERTE. Cuenca (0.65%), Castellón and Huesca (0.69%) and Guadalajara, Murcia and Huelva (0.72%) have the lowest percentages.
In contrast, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands have the highest number of protected workers. Specifically, Las Palmas is the province with the highest number of workers on ERTE (4.77% of its affiliates), followed by followed by Palencia (4.20%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with 4.08%, and the Balearic Islands, with 3.73%.
Last week, the Government approved the extension of ERTE benefits until 28 February 2022, after agreement with the social partners. In this extension, the focus is on training, with greater exemptions for companies that carry out training activities.
*NOTES ON PUBLICATION OF ERTE DATA:
Given that the dates of application for the ERTE and the date of its effects may be different, there is a certain disparity between the notification date - the data communicated up to that date - and the effective date - at discharge - (for example, a company may notify the Treasury of the ERTE of its workforce on 10 December, when it has been in effect since 20 November). For the sake of transparency, the attached Excel file shows the revised series of ERTE people both by discharge date - a series that requires daily updating - and by notification date so that the appropriate comparisons can be made.
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