After three consecutive months of rising unemployment, in October the tables have turned. There are 27,027 fewer unemployed, and this in a month in which unemployment usually increases.
The labor market holds. Inflation is still very high and economic activity is slowing down, but employment is responding, to the point that the largest drop in unemployment was recorded in the month of October in the entire historical series.
The average for the 2008-2019 period shows an increase of more than 90,000 unemployed in October, and if we focus on the pre-pandemic period, the years 2017-2019, there is also an increase of 70,000 unemployed. Only last year unemployment fell in October, but it was a minimal decrease, of 734 people.
In this way, registered unemployment stands at 2,914,892 people, which is the lowest figure in a month of October since 2008. "These data are clearly good. The labor market once again has a very strong capacity for resistance. important given the levels of uncertainty we are experiencing", declared the Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, when presenting the figures.
For her part, the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, wanted to add a political interpretation. "These are bad data for the doomsayers of the apocalypse that no matter what happens in our country, they tell us that everything is going wrong," she told TVE.
In addition, unemployment decreases in all economic sectors, especially in services, with 16,153 fewer, followed by agriculture, and further behind, construction. In industry, the reduction is minimal.
Unemployment decreases for both men and women; instead, it increases among the young. There are 1,845 more unemployed in the age group of less than 25 years, although it can be qualified that the total figure, 212,118, is the lowest in the historical series in the month of October.
On the other hand, the good streak of permanent contracts continues. Of the million and a half contracts signed this month, 45.8% are indefinite, which means quadrupling the average of the historical series. Of the 697,335 permanent contracts, most are full-time (263,759) and permanent permanent (259,834), followed at a greater distance by part-time (173,742).
By autonomous communities, unemployment fell in ten territories, among which the sharp decline in Andalusia stands out, with 18,736 fewer, followed by Catalonia (6,321 fewer). At the other extreme is the Valencian Community, with 3,050 more unemployed.
We come from a July where the increase in unemployment caught us by surprise and which was followed by a bad August and September, although that is usual, because the end of summer has its consequences in terms of employment once tourist activity stops. On the other hand, October, which in principle should also be negative for the labor market, has registered a decrease in unemployment.
Regarding affiliation to Social Security, October registered 103,499 more affiliates than in September, an increase that is slightly below the average of the pre-pandemic period, the years 2017-2019, when it exceeded 110,000. In this way, the total number of affiliates stands at 20,283,786.
In seasonally adjusted terms, that is, discounting the calendar effect and the time of year, the increase is limited to 16,095 new affiliates. Employment growth is especially dynamic in sectors with high added value such as information technology and telecommunications.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security highlights that ten months after the entry into force of the labor reform, the affiliates with indefinite contracts are already 2.3 million compared to the end of 2021.
In addition, there is more stability in the labor market. This is shown by the fact that affiliates with contracts of less than 30 days have been reduced (there are 2.8 million less), and at the same time the average duration of the total number of contracts that have caused cancellation in relation to the same has increased by 48 days period last year.
