Social Security adds 129,000 contributors in March and end the quarter with the creation of 420,000 new jobs

April end a four-month period in which 420,301 new workers have been added. The current level is almost 1.2 million more than before the start of the pandemic (February 2020).

Employment in innovative activities remains buoyant

Employment growth compared to before the pandemic is notable in high value-added sectors, such as Information Technology and Telecommunications, where the number of employees has grown by 21.6% compared to that recorded before the pandemic, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, which grew by 12.8%. Since the end of the pandemic, one in four new contributors has entered these highly productive sectors.

All autonomous communities record 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 6.4%.

86% with a permanent employment

In April, the percentage of temporary contract workers remained at an all-time low of 14%, less than half of what it was before the labour reform (30%).

In the case of those under 30 years old, temporary employment has reduced by 32 points from its pre-reform level, from 53% to 21%.

Another indicator of increased stability is the increase in the average length of contracts that have been terminated. Between January and April this year, they have grown by 62 days compared to the same period in 2019, the last comparable year prior to the impact of the pandemic.

Of the 4.1 million contributors who had a temporary contract in the first quarter of 2022 and are still registered, 53% are permanent in April 2023, i.e. 2.2 million. The majority, 1.8 million, are ordinary permanent, and 394,000 are permanent discontinuous. The sectors where most temporary contracts have become permanent are: Trade and Vehicle Repair, Hotels and Catering, Construction and the Manufacturing Industry.

On the other hand, the number of workers undergoing Temporary Redundancy remains at minimum levels at around 13,000 people, 0.1% of all contributors.

Average contributors

Finally, without the seasonal adjustment, the average number of national insurance contributors increased by 238,436 in April, a month-on-month increase of 1.17%. This is the highest average increase in contributors in an April and the second highest in absolute terms in the whole series (the highest was in July 2005).

The average number of contributors thus stands at 20,614,989 (10,888,405 men and 9,726,584 women), which is the highest figure in the historical series. This is 595,908 more than a year ago, representing year-on-year growth of almost 3%.

Non official translation