Labour market information: Spain

Spain, located in the south-west corner of the European continent, has an area of over half a million km² and a population of more than 47 million. In 2020 the registered population in Spain grew for the fourth consecutive year due to an increase in immigration, which compensated for a natural population decrease: the fall in the number of Spanish nationals was accompanied by a rise in the number of foreign nationals, both from the European Union and from non-EU countries, principally from South America and Africa.

The Spanish economy is the fourth largest in the euro area, fifth largest in the European Union and fourteenth in the world in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP). It has been in an expansionary phase for the past six years, with significant growth in GDP rates driven by domestic demand and exports. In early 2020, Spain’s growth was stronger than in previous economic cycles and exceeded the European average. The health crisis caused by COVID-19 changed this. As elsewhere in the world, the public health measures and restrictions of movement and economic activity had an impact.

That impact was not uniform. Most affected were the leisure-related sectors: tourism, hotels, catering, culture and specific groups of workers, especially temporary jobs for the least qualified and young people, and the self-employed.

In this uncertain situation, Spanish central government forecasts suggest an 11.2 % fall in GDP in 2020, depressed by weak consumer spending and investment. In 2021, Spain is expected to bounce back from most of this fall. Growth of 7.2 % is predicted for 2021 and, if the recovery plans bear fruit, the figure could be as high as 9.8 %. While employment levels are in line with overall economic activity, the measures adopted have cushioned the impact on employment, compared with past recessions. An unemployment level of around 17 % is predicted, up three percentage points on 2019. Thus it is hoped that the return to work in 2021 will bring the level down to 16 %.

Like the economy as a whole, the Spanish labour market has been affected, recording a fall in employment and higher unemployment. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) showed a 3.51 % year-on-year decline in employment, accompanied by a spike in unemployment at 15.82 %. The level of joblessness stood at around 16.3 %, 2.4 percentage points above the level of one year before. Thus Spain remains the EU country with the second highest unemployment.

From an employment viewpoint, Spain’s business structure is highly fragmented into small units. In fact, eight out of10 companies in Spain have fewer than three employees. The largest percentages of small businesses occur in the service sector, especially retail and wholesale. In contrast, the bulk of large companies is concentrated in the industrial sector. Moreover, a significant number of large companies are major international players in sectors related to infrastructure development, renewable energy, tourism, banking, insurance, the textile industry, health technology, aerospace, the agrifoods sector and the automotive industry.

At the end of September 2020 the number of companies that had employees and were registered with the social security system was 1 286 659, marking a decrease of 3.1 % compared with the same month of the previous year. More than half of those companies operate in wholesale and retail trade, hotels and catering, construction and manufacturing industry. The biggest loss in the number of businesses in absolute terms over the past year was in wholesale and retail, hotels and catering, transport and warehousing, other services, manufacturing industry and arts, recreation and entertainment. Numbers of businesses rose in only two sectors: energy supply and finance and insurance.

According to information from the Observatory of Occupations in the Public Employment Service (SEPE Occupations Observatory), the crisis has also made itself felt in government records: the number of unemployed persons signing on with the SEPE services in September 2020 topped 3.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 22.62 %. There was a 1.98 % fall in the numbers paying social security contributions, to just above 18.8 million. The 23.39 % year-on-year decline in recruitment indicated slightly more than 17.3 million contracts of employment. The presence of workers from other countries is an important factor in these indicators, given that they account for 14 % of unemployed persons, 11 % of social security contributors and 20 % of contracts.

The largest numbers of EU workers paying social security contributions are from Romania, Italy, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Portugal and France, while the largest numbers from outside the EU are from Morocco, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia.

Looking beyond the expected short and medium-term trends, Spain's main economic challenges and vulnerabilities include: ageing population; high unemployment (highest among young people); long-term unemployment; the reported temporary nature of the work; and the strong concentration of small and medium-sized enterprises, above the European average. In addition to these imbalances, and the knock-on effects of the pandemic, the Spanish labour market faces the fourth industrial revolution: robotisation; artificial intelligence; the internet of things; and general digitalisation of the economy.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, despite high unemployment rates, some sectors are performing well and, for various reasons, job vacancies are proving hard to fill. The causes vary: mismatch between supply and demand, skills shortage, seasonal fluctuations, geographical mobility or specific working conditions.

According to the INE, there were 74 346 vacancies in the second quarter of 2020. Of this figure, 87.1 % were in the service sector. Most companies currently state that they have no vacancies to fill in this quarter: hence they need no extra employees.

As far as qualified occupations are concerned, the highest employment levels in 2019 were in electronic engineering, software and applications development, multimedia engineering and telecommunications engineering.

During the months of lockdown, more positions became available in the tech. sector, where demand is now highest, together with positions for healthcare professionals. The need for these professionals is expected to continue as various production sectors go digital.

The agricultural sector specifically needs seasonal labour. The service sector has detected a shortage of care workers in institutions, specialist doctors and nursing professionals. Difficulties have also arisen filling teaching vacancies in certain technical subjects and in vocational training. Thus the production system as a whole requires qualified technology staff such as data analysts, computer engineers, technicians specialised in big data and IT security and business intelligence and data mining experts.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the consequences of the economic crisis have been felt in the Spanish labour market, where some production sectors still have an excess of jobseekers who are not very likely to find a job.

In general, there is still a high number of jobseekers in relation to the number of job openings in low-skilled occupations. In the industrial sector, this applies to manufacturing labourers and freight handlers. In the service sector, it affects cleaners and assistants in offices, domestic cleaners and home helps, receptionists and shelf stackers, cashiers and ticket clerks, car, taxi and van drivers, shop sales assistants and waiting staff.

Galicia, in the north east of the Iberian peninsula, has an area of 29 574 km². According to the INE, on 1 January 2020 it had 2 700 269 inhabitants, representing a 0.03 % increase on 2019. Of the total population, 112 022 are foreigners (4.15 %), 1 299 371 (48.12 %) are men and 1 400 898 (51.88 %) women. The natural population decrease was -15 542 and net immigration was 17 747 (2019 figures). Population density is 91.27 inhabitants/km², and the population is very unevenly distributed among Galicia’s four provinces: A Coruña 41.47 % (140.83 inhabitants/km²), Pontevedra 34.92 % (209.72 inhabitants/km²), Lugo 12.21 % (33.43 inhabitants/km²) and Ourense 11.40 % (42.29 inhabitants/km²).

GDP at market prices in Galicia in 2019 was EUR 64 865 315 000, up 3.7 % compared with 2018. It accounted for 5.2 % of national GDP. In Q3 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, the number of employed persons decreased by 2.09 % (from 1 105 700 to 1 082 600); the number of economically active persons decreased by 1.74 % (from 1 249 200 to 1 227 400); and the number of unemployed persons increased by 0.91 %, i.e. by 1 300 to 144 800 compared to 143 500 in Q3 2019. There was a decrease of 1.61 % in the number of people paying social security contributions, which in absolute terms comes to 16 470 fewer contributors, down from 1 021 576 on 30 September 2019 to 1 005 106 on the same date in 2020. All these figures reflect the current pandemic situation.

According to information from the National Statistics Institute (Central Directory of Companies), in 2019, Galicia’s business community comprised 200 972 companies, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and there were only ten companies with over 5 000 workers, six in the province of A Coruña, two in Pontevedra, one in Lugo and one in Ourense. Since 2018, the total number of companies has grown by 0.09 %.

The largest companies in Galicia, in terms of both turnover and number of employees are: Inditex Group in Arteixo (A Coruña) in the textile sector; PSA Peugeot Citröen in Vigo (Pontevedra) in the car manufacturing sector; Financiera Maderera SA (FINSA) in Santiago (A Coruña), in the wood processing sector; Vego Supermercados in A Coruña and Distribuciones Froiz in Poio (Pontevedra), both in the food distribution sector; and Coren in Ourense, a food processing company.

The most significant activities based on the number of companies are retailing (except of motor vehicles and motorcycles), food and beverage services, wholesaling and commercial agents (except of motor vehicles and motorcycles), specialised construction activities, land and pipeline transport and building construction.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in September 2020, the provinces of A Coruña and Pontevedra recorded 78.97 % of Galicia’s 176 574 unemployed jobseekers (12.48 % more than September 2019) and 81.61 % of the 817 395 contracts of employment entered into from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020 (24.76 % fewer than during the same period the previous year). The remaining 21.03 % of jobseekers were distributed quite evenly between Lugo (9.86 %) and Ourense (11.16 %) while, in terms of contracts of employment, Lugo accounted for 10.42 % and Ourense, 7.97 %. A total of 57.89 % of the unemployed were women, and 47.55 % of the contracts were with women. Young people under the age of 30 account for 14.12 % of the unemployed, with a recruitment rate of 31.84 %, while those over 45 account for 53.42 % of registered unemployment with a recruitment rate of 26.91 %. People with disabilities account for 5.56 % of the unemployed and were awarded 2.02 % of the contracts. The recruitment rate for foreigners was 7.91 % and the unemployment rate for this group was 7.37 %. A total of 47.57 % of unemployed jobseekers (44.66 % in 2019) are long-term unemployed.

The number of contracts offered in the following economic activities increased the most in relative terms between 1 October 2019 and 30 September 2020 vis-à-vis the same period in 2018-2019 and also accounted for more than 1 % of the total number of contracts registered: Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (5.70 %) and activities of households as employers of domestic staff (3.43 %). The remaining activities saw declines during this period. The activities which declined most are: warehousing and transport-related activities, with a 4.37 % change; assistance in residential institutions, 6.03 %; and agriculture, livestock farming, hunting and related services, 6.11 %. The greatest falls in recruitment in this period were in creative, arts and entertainment, accommodation services and food and beverage services, with changes of 53.67 %, 45.79 % and 43.26 % respectively.

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According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, supply exceeds demand in nearly all occupations in the labour market in Galicia, and therefore employers traditionally have little difficulty covering job openings. The imbalance has worsened during the current pandemic. However, some occupations show a greater trend towards recruitment. Contract numbers have risen over the period under review, or have fallen less in other occupations. At the same time, the rise in unemployment has been smaller than in other occupations. Therefore the balance between supply and demand is better. Among these, the following stand out:

• skilled and unskilled operatives and artisans in mechanics and other unclassified trades
• call centre employees
• care workers in institutions
• postal workers

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, on 30 September 2020 there was an excess of supply of labour over demand in most typical occupations in the autonomous community of Galicia, regardless of sector. However, the following occupations registered the highest number of surplus workers based on the September 2020 study of unemployed jobseekers (compared to the same month the previous year):

• cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments
• shop sales assistants
• chefs
• kitchen assistants
• clerical support staff not classified under other headings
• cashiers and ticket clerks
• shelf stackers

Asturias is located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It covers 10 603.57 km² and, according to provisional INE data from 1 January 2020, has 1 018 706 inhabitants, with a year-on-year variation of -0.39 %. The population density is 96 inhabitants/km². Asturias has an ageing population; 26.17 % of its inhabitants are over 65, while the under-20 age bracket accounts for 14.61 % of the total.

In Q3 2020 there were 443 600 economically active persons and the employed population totalled 380 800. The proportion of economically active persons is 50.05 %. Unemployment rate stands at 14.16 %. By gender, the unemployment rate was 13.28 % for men and 15.10 % for women.

According to INE data, on 1 January 2020, 45 279 foreigners were living in Asturias, accounting for 4.44 % of the population. Of these, 52.29 % were women, 33.59 % were from the European Union and the remaining 66.41 % from other countries.

According to data supplied by INE (DIRCE 2019), the business fabric comprises 68 688 companies. The number of companies fell by 0.04 % with respect to last year. Only 30 485 have paid workers. Companies with fewer than 50 workers account for 99.45 % of the total. The bulk of them are in the service sector (82.54 %) and within this sector, wholesale, retail and food and beverage services are followed by construction (12.28 %) and industry (5.19 %). Significant companies in terms of employment numbers are: Alimerka, ArcelorMittal, Lacera, Daorje, Azvase, Hijos de Luis Rodríguez (Masymas), Thyssenkrupp, Volotea, Corp. Alimentaria Peñasanta, Imasa, Asturiana de Zinc, Hulleras del Norte, Industrias Lácteas Asturianas, Gijón Municipal Environmental Service company, Seresco, Duro Felguera, Performance Specialty Products Asturias S.L, Cementos Tudela Veguin, TSK and EDP.

According to the most recent estimated figures from the INE, in 2019 services accounted for 72.05 % of GDP followed by industry (19.18 %), construction (7.41 %) and the primary sector (1.37 %). Global year-on-year GDP variation at current prices is 2.75 %. Over the past year, the following have grown in terms of GDP: construction (9.18 %), agriculture (7.07 %) and services (3.18 %), while the industrial sector declined (1.34 %).

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, between October 2019 and September 2020, the number of contracts of employment was 278 680, a decrease of 99 434 (26.30 %) on the same period of the previous year. Women accounted for 49.93 % of total recruitment. Of the contracts signed, 8.44 % (23 525) were permanent. 7.79 % of those hired were foreign nationals, down 17.96 % on the previous year, and most contracts in the services sector were in food and beverage. The highest number of people hired was in October (37 212) and the lowest in April (7 228).

By sector, recruitment figures were highest in the service sector (81.99 %), particularly in hotels and catering, administrative support, wholesale and retail, manufacturing industry, healthcare, transport and warehousing. In the agricultural sector, recruitment centred mainly on livestock farming, while in construction it was in specialised construction activities. As for industry, a staple sector which provides a benchmark in the region, the most significant activities are: manufacture of metal products except machinery and equipment; food industries; metallurgy (manufacture of iron and steel and ferrous alloy products); other non-metal mineral production; waste collection, processing and disposal; and beverage manufacture.

Most recruitment was for the following jobs: waiting staff, cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments, shop sales assistants and manufacturing operatives not classified under other headings. Foreigners are recruited to occupations related to the hotel and catering trade, such as waiting and kitchen staff, chefs and others such as cleaners and assistants in offices and hotels and domestic cleaners and home helps.

At the end of September 2020, there were 78 006 unemployed jobseekers (55.35 % women and 44.65 % men). This figure marks a 15.45 % increase on the same month of the previous year. The following economic activities registered the strongest demand in each sector. Agriculture and fisheries: agriculture, livestock farming, hunting and related activities; industry: food industry and manufacture of metal products; construction: specialised trades and building construction; as far as the services sector is concerned: food and beverage, retail trade, public administration and defence.

The jobs most sought-after by the unemployed were: shop sales assistants, cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments, general office workers, waiting staff, operatives in manufacturing industry and mineworkers. Unemployed foreigners seek jobs as cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments, waiting staff, shop sales assistants, chefs, building construction labourers, domestic cleaners and home helps and manufacturing operatives not classified under other headings.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the following sectors have good prospects of continuing growth: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, blockchain, logistics, health and preventive healthcare services, digital marketing, e-commerce, food and cleaning.

The following economic sectors offer the main jobs with greatest recruitment opportunities, based on the number of registered jobseekers:

• Agriculture, livestock and fisheries: divers and fishery workers in coastal and inland waters.
• Industry: skilled workers, operatives and artisans in mechanical and other trades not classified under other headings, toolmakers and related trades, metal production process controllers, workers in facilities preparing paper pulp and paper mills, paper-products machine operators, operators of machinery and fixed installations not classified under other headings, machinery operatives in textile and hide and leather goods factories, and wood processing operatives.
• Construction: in this sector there is no occupation where recruitment exceeds demand.
• Services: employees in customer information services not classified under other headings, other cleaning personnel, call centre employees, postal service employees, creative and performing artists not classified under other headings, sales personnel not classified under other headings, security personnel not classified under other headings and couriers, cargo handlers and delivery drivers.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, most of the occupations where demand exceeds the supply of jobs are the less qualified (labourers, messengers, clerical support staff, etc.). It should be borne in mind that highly qualified jobseekers have also been accepting lower skilled employment in the hope of improving their employability. Demand is still high in occupations related to hotels and catering, wholesale and retail, construction and metalworking .

Demand for employment exceeds supply in the following occupations, broken down by economic sector:

• Agriculture and related services: farmworkers and qualified gardeners and horticultural and nursery growers, garden and horticultural workers, forestry workers, deep sea fishermen, biologists, botanists, zoologists and related professions.
• Industry: manufacturing operatives, mineworkers, freight handlers, welders and oxy-acetylene cutters, panel beaters and boilermakers, mechanics and electricians, operators of earthmoving and similar machinery, and physics and chemistry technicians.
• Construction: bricklayers, building construction labourers, public works and maintenance labourers, building and similar electricians, woodworkers and joiners, painters and decorators, reinforced concrete workers, plasterers and similar trades, plumbers and pipe fitters, draughtsmen, electrical engineers, construction foremen and floor layers and tile setters.
• Services: shop sales assistants, general office workers, waiting and bar staff, chefs, hairdressers, sales representatives, administrative and executive secretaries, care workers in health services not classified under other headings, couriers, cargo handlers and delivery drivers, car, taxi and van drivers, cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments.

The autonomous community of Cantabria, located in the middle of the Iberian Peninsula's northern coast, covers 5 321 km² and has 284 km of coastline on the southern Bay of Biscay. According to recent data from the municipal register, 582 796 people reside in Cantabria, marking a small increase in line with the trend for the Kingdom of Spain as a whole, but less pronounced. Average age is 45.4 and life expectancy 84. A total of 51.3 % of the population are women and 48.7 % are men. The population density is 109 inhabitants/km². In terms of the origin of the population, three quarters are from the region itself and, of the remaining quarter, two out of three are from other parts of Spain. The rest were born abroad, mostly in Europe and Latin America.

The bulk of the population, and hence economic activity, is found on the coast along what is known as the ‘Arc and extension of the Bay of Biscay’, which encompasses Santander and Torrelavega and their outskirts as the main conurbations, the former known for its services sector and the latter for its traditional industry. The coast features a mild, temperate Atlantic climate with moderate day/night temperature fluctuations and average annual temperatures of approximately 17 ºC, precipitation around 1 100 mm and over 1 600 hours of sun. The hinterland has a typical moderate, continental climate. Additional data supplementing the census show that 70 % of commutes from home to work – by any means including walking – take under 20 minutes.

The main national economic indicators marked a positive start to the year, especially compared with the European context. All estimates predict a positive macroeconomic scenario, but at a slower pace than in recent years. Nevertheless, all economic and employment indicators dipped dramatically after the state of emergency was declared in mid-March, due to the pandemic caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The figures and estimates now indicate GDP which is going to close the year down by about 10 %, and a high public deficit and indebtedness. The autonomous community of Cantabria accounts for around 1.1 % of national GDP and is not immune from this negative trend. So it is expected to close the year with decreases similar to Spain as a whole. The trend across economic sectors is negative. The service, industrial and construction sectors lead the decline, with a few exceptions in specific activities such as health and social services, education, business services and ITC, which are growing. Per capita income in Cantabria is only slightly below the national average, which is around EUR 26 000.

The most recent update of the Central Directory of Companies (DIRCE) shows a total of 38 702 companies in Cantabria, with 44 467 premises or places of business. Cantabria’s business structure is very fragmented. In fact, slightly more than half of the companies have no employees and, of those that do employ people, 83 % have fewer than six. Companies with over 50 workers account for only 1.3 %. The most common legal form of companies is that of sole trader and sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (private limited company – SL). From a quantitative standpoint, the region’s main activities are retail and wholesale, food and beverage services, building construction and specialised construction activities, land transport, real estate activities, human resource services, legal and accounting activities, healthcare, education, and architectural and engineering activities, accounting for nearly three quarters of local people in work. In September 2020, the number of people paying contributions to the public social security system was 216 570, down slightly on the same month of the previous year. One in five registrations is self-employed.

The trend on the employment market has been considerably affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This impact is now cushioned by the temporary employment regulation measures, which have led to a noticeable improvement, looking both at the LFS estimates and the data from the various public registers, especially of the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy. The following major employment indicators serve as examples: fall in the number of redundant members and recorded contracts of employment and unemployed persons. The LFS data on Cantabria for Q3 2020 show that the activity rate was 55.21%, and the unemployment rate 12.02 %, whereas the national figures were 57.83 % and 16.26 %, respectively.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory in Cantabria, in September 2020 there were 39 444 registered unemployed persons. This already reflected the effects of the health crisis, especially in a year-on-year comparison. The annual recruitment volume, added up until September, was drastically reduced. To sum up, the regional labour market is back in recession and, probably worse, in a situation of profound uncertainty.

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According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, there is a labour surplus in Cantabria which employers cannot absorb. A series of recessions, including the present health crisis, have had a major impact on the labour market, leaving a large number of people unemployed. Many of whom are currently unable to get back into work, and becoming less employable due to long-term unemployment.

Only in a few specific occupations could it be considered difficult to find professionals. The obstacles are of a different kind, such as a lack of professionals with the necessary occupational profile, strong seasonal demand, poor attitude towards work, geographical and functional mobility, acceptance threshold, labour conditions, etc. This combination of circumstances gives rise to situations in which workers are difficult to find. Some economic activities in Cantabria currently have difficulties finding the ideal candidate to fill job openings. These are jobs in general healthcare, mother-tongue language teachers, especially of English and German, technical jobs in metalworking or qualified ITC professionals. It should also be noted that entrepreneurial initiatives in all those fields are well received.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory in Cantabria, the health crisis is having a big impact on the labour market. While the scale of the impact is unknown, it is already clear that it will leave its mark on the structure and functioning of the labour market and on the required job profiles. Re-skilling will be necessary for new jobs.

The ratio of labour supply to demand continues to be very unbalanced in most sectors and occupations. This leads to an excess of job applications being registered at the public employment services, which it is still not possible to satisfy. Unemployed people looking for vacancies mostly find low or medium-skilled jobs. Even if these are temporary or seasonal, they are already in short supply.

The following is a rank-order list of the main occupational groups/sectors with an excess of unemployed workers in the autonomous community of Cantabria:

• shop sales assistants
• cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments
• manufacturing labourers not classified under other headings
• waiting staff
• clerical support staff not classified under other headings
• forestry workers
• building construction labourers
• cashiers and ticket clerks
• farmworkers, gardeners and horticultural and nursery growers
• shelf stackers
• car, taxi and van drivers
• garden and horticultural workers
• freight handlers
• chefs
• public works and maintenance labourers
• general receptionists
• bricklayers
• fitness instructors and leisure activity leaders
• caretakers
• kitchen assistants

The Basque Country is an autonomous community located in the north of Spain and also referred to as Euskadi. It has an area of 7 230.33 km² and comprises three territories or provinces: Araba/Álava, Bizkaia/Vizcaya and Gipuzkoa/Guipúzcoa.

According to provisional INE data, the resident population of this community was 2 219 777 on 1 January 2020, which, after a year-on-year increase of 0.54 %, accounted for 4.68 % of the total population of Spain. The population density is 306.85 inhabitants/km². By territory, 52.21 % of the region’s inhabitants reside in Vizcaya, 32.75 % in Guipúzcoa and 15.04 % in Álava. During 2019 the number of foreigners in the Basque Country increased by 9.69 % and represents 8.09 % of the Basque population.

On 27 July 2020, the Spanish Regional Accounts (SRA) presented their first estimate for 2019. The Basque Country’s annual GDP growth by volume in 2019 stood at 1.9 %, compared with 2.0 % for the Spanish economy as a whole. After Madrid, the Basque Country recorded the second highest nominal GDP per capita in 2019, at EUR 34 273, compared with a national average of EUR 26 438.

According to the quarterly accounts published by the Statistics Institute of the Basque Country (Eustat), the region's year-on-year GDP declined by -19.5% in Q2 2020, largely due to the health crisis caused by COVID-19. The decline is lower than estimated for the Spanish economy as a whole, for which the year-on-year decline in Q2 was -22.1 %. The euro area (-14.7 %) and the EU as a whole (-13.9%) performed better.

The industrial sector fell back by -26.7 % in year-on-year terms. Construction and services also fell ‑17.9 % and -17.5 % respectively. The foreign trade balance worsened. Exports of goods and services fell by -30.1 % compared with Q2 2019, while imports declined less (-26.4 %).

On 1 January 2019 there were 142 198 active companies in the Basque Country, 78.64 % in the service sector, 13.68 % in construction and 7.68 % in industry. A total of 49.74 % of these companies did not have any employees, 44.56 % had fewer than 10, 5.18 % had between 10 and 99, 0.44 % between 100 and 499 and 0.08% had over 500 employees.

In September 2020 there were 948 187 workers paying social security contributions, which is 1.68 % fewer than in September 2019 and similar to the 1.98 % decrease at national level. A total of 17.77 % of workers paying social security contributions are self-employed.

The number of workers affected by mass layoffs between January and August 2020 was 213. This represents a fall of -54.6 % on the same period of the previous year. By contrast, those affected by suspension of contract and short-time working were 42 411, an increase of 3 910 %.

The most relevant companies are: Aernnova, Grupo Arteche, BBVA, Bridgestone Hispania, CAF, CIE Automotive, Eroski, Etxe Tar, Euskaltel, Gamesa, Gestamp, Iberdrola, Ibermática Idom, Ingeteam, ITP, Kutxabank, Mercedes, Michelin, Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa, Sener, Tubacex, Tubos Reunidos, Velatia, Vidrala, etc.

LFS data for Q3 2020 reflect a significant upturn in the unemployment rate to 10.34 %, compared to 9.26 % during the same quarter the previous year. The working population fell by 1.02 %, while the economically active and unemployed increased by 0.17 % and 11.86 % respectively.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, 768 691 contracts were registered in the year between October 2019 and September 2020 (23.99 % fewer than the previous year), accounting for 4.44 % of all contracts registered nationally. Of these contracts, 49.90 % were awarded to women, 33.00 % to young people under 30, 28.35 % to those over 45, 15.04 % to foreigners, 2.43 % to long-term jobseekers and 1.77 % to persons with disabilities.

On 30 September 2020 there were 144 758 unemployed jobseekers in this autonomous community, meaning a year-on-year change of 27.39 %. Of the total number of unemployed persons, women accounted for 54.59 %, the long-term unemployed for 47.19 %, those over 45 for 46.64 %, those under 30 for 20.08 %, foreigners for 16.47 % and persons with disabilities for 4.53 %.

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According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the following economic activities recruited the highest number of workers in the past year, accounting for 52.12 % of total recruitment: food and beverage services; retail trade, except motor vehicles and motorcycles; residential care; building maintenance and gardening; education; warehousing and transport-related activities; accommodation services; social work without accommodation; transport by land and pipeline; manufacture of metal products except machinery and equipment.

The activities that proportionately grew the most in terms of workers paying into social security are: chemical industry; postal and courier services; pharmaceutical production; activities of head offices; consultancy and business management; sport, leisure and entertainment; and civil engineering.

However, there is no evidence of particular difficulties in covering job vacancies in these activities.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the following occupations were receiving the highest number of applications from unemployed jobseekers on 30 September 2020:

• shop sales assistants
• waiting staff
• cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments
• manufacturing labourers not classified under other headings
• clerical support staff not classified under other headings
• key workers not classified under other headings
• chefs
• administrative and executive secretaries
• domiciliary care workers
• farmworkers, gardeners and horticultural and nursery growers
• bricklayers
• process control technicians not classified under other headings

The autonomous community of Navarre is located in the north of Spain, in the westernmost part of the Pyrenees, and covers a total of 10 391.08 km². According to final municipal registry data on 1 January 2020, Navarre has a population of 660 887 (327 073 men and 333 814 women), marking a 1.02 % increase on the previous year. There are 70 467 foreign residents, making up 10.66 % of Navarre’s total population. Of these, 34.3 % are from Europe and 30.3 % are from Africa. In terms of gender, men account for 50.5 % of Navarre’s foreign population (35 554 persons). The average age of the population entered on the municipal registers is 44.3 for Spanish nationals and 33.3 for foreign nationals. The number of registered residents in Navarre has grown for 5 consecutive years.

Navarre's quarterly accounts for Q2 2020, drawn up by its Statistics Institute, reflect the severe impact on the production system of COVID-19 and of the measures adopted to contain the pandemic. Year-on-year change in GDP was -18.5 % compared with the same quarter of 2019. GDP was also -15.3 % lower than in the previous quarter, while employment fell by -15.6 %. Regional GDP contributed 1.78 % to the national figure in 2019 (preliminary estimate) and was spread across the sectors as follows: services 59.6 %; industry 30.8 %, construction 6.6 % and agriculture 3.1 % (excludes net production taxes). Industry contributes more, and the service sector less, to regional than to national GDP. In 2019, Navarre's per capita GDP stood at EUR 32 141, 121.6 % of the nationwide figure.

There were 44 224 active companies in Navarre, according to the most recent update of the Central Directory of Companies (DIRCE). This marks a 0.15 % decrease from last year’s figure. A total of 56.22 % of the companies have no employees. Companies employing between one and five workers account for 34.74 % of the total, 7.98 % have between 6 and 49 workers and 1.06 % employ 50 or more. The companies with the largest turnover in Navarre include Volkswagen Navarra, S.A., Siemens Gamesa, A.N.S.C., SAS Autosystemtechnik, UVESA and Laboratorios Cinfa. By sector, the most prominent is services, followed by trade, construction and industry, the main activities being: trade and other services (administrative and support service activities and hotels and catering, among others).

According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the economic activity rate in Navarre in Q3 2020 was 57.25 %. The rate was 62.47 % for men and 52.19 % for women. The employed population was 279 400, 3.78 % less than the previous year, but was 2.93 % higher counting the figures for Q3 2020. In terms of gender, 53.5 % of the working population is male and 46.5% female, down 5.20 % and 2.18 % respectively on the same period of the previous year. The unemployment level is 9.94 %, the lowest of all Spain’s autonomous communities (though 1.75 points higher than the previous year). The unemployment rate is 10.26 % for men and 9.57 % for women. The number of unemployed persons is 30 900, up 5 000 on the previous year (19.09 %).

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in September 2019 there were 38 148 unemployed persons registered with the employment offices in Navarre: 25.32 % more than in September 2019. 20.81 % of these were foreign.

Between 1 October 2019 and 30 September 2020, a total of 319 731 contracts of employment were registered in Navarre. This represented a 19.40 % decrease compared with the same period of the previous year. Of these contracts, 18.81 % were entered into with foreigners in this most recent period.

At the end of September 2020 there were 285 595 workers in Navarre paying social security contributions, marking a year-on-year decrease of 0.39 %. The economic activities with the largest numbers of social security contributors are: agriculture and livestock farming; food and automotive industries; and specialised construction. In the service sector, they are: retail; education; healthcare; food and beverage activities.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the impact of the health crisis caused by COVID-19 on jobs has been a sharp rise in unemployment in Navarre and in the country as a whole. No sectors have a labour shortage, though there are noticeable imbalances between supply and demand in specific jobs, especially healthcare and the food industries.

Workers are hard to find for jobs with a significant technical profile or obvious qualification, as well as for less qualified jobs.

It is difficult to recruit:

• general medical practitioners and medical consultants
• nursing professionals
• pharmacists
• primary school teachers
• butchers, fishmongers and related trades
• fruit, pulse, vegetable and related preservers
• metal processing plant operators
• paper-products machine operators
• food and related products machine operators
• waste sorters
• mixed crop and livestock farm labourers

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, most of the occupations where the labour supply exceeds demand coincide with medium-to-low skill requirements and, in some cases, with temporary or seasonal work.

The following occupations receive the most applications from unemployed jobseekers:

• graphic and multimedia designers
• accountants
• management policy specialists
• translators, interpreters and other linguists
• book keepers
• buyers
• administrative and executive secretaries.
• interior designers and decorators
• gallery, museum and library technicians
• general receptionists
• travel agency staff
• cashiers and ticket clerks
• childcare practitioners
• companions and valets
• farmworkers and qualified gardeners and horticultural and nursery growers
• painters and decorators
• sewing machine operators
• packaging, bottling and labelling machinery operators
• lift truck operators
• car, taxi and van drivers
• freight handlers

Rioja is a single-province autonomous community located in the north of Spain. It borders to the south with the province of Soria, to the south-east with Zaragoza, to the north-east with Navarre, to the north with Alava and to the west with Burgos.

Rioja is Spain’s smallest autonomous community (5 045 km²) and also has the smallest population: 319 653 inhabitants on 1 January 2019, with a population density of 62 inhabitants per km².

In the past year, the population has increased by 2 855 inhabitants, almost all of whom are foreign. 12.52 % of those registered as residing in the province are foreigners, higher than the national average which stands at 11.43 %. The population of Rioja has increased by 0.08 % over the last 5 years, which is not a significant change, while the national population increased by 0.86 % during that same period.

There are 174 municipalities in the community, although only 14 have more than 3 000 inhabitants. The capital, Logroño, is the most populous city, with 151 136 inhabitants.

In 2019, Rioja’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.5 %, compared with 2 % for Spain as a whole. The contribution of the different sectors to gross value breaks down as follows: services 61.2 %; industry 25.8 %; agriculture 6.5 %; and construction 6.5 %. Rioja still has the seventh highest per capita GDP among the autonomous communities, 5.38 % above the national average.

According to data from the Central Directory of Companies, there were 22 669 companies in Rioja on 1 January 2019, of which 53 % had no employees. Of the total number of companies with employees, 89 % have fewer than ten workers and only 1.24 % have more than 100, reflecting the predominance of small and medium-sized enterprises in the region.

The number of companies is 2.28 % lower than the previous year, whereas in Spain as a whole the number of companies rose 0.77 % over the same period. In the past 5 years the number of companies has fallen by 1.79 % in Rioja, unlike in Spain, which has recorded a 5.53 % increase.

The most representative economic activities in the province include: the food industry, the footwear industry, agriculture, the wine industry, the metal industry and ITC.

Based on number of employees, the important companies in our region are: Conservas El Cidacos S.A., Grupo Empresarial Palacios Alimentación S.A, Domiberia S.L.U., Standard Profil Spain S.A., Constantia Tobepal S.L., S.L. and International Automotive Components Group S.L.

According to the Labour Force Survey, in Q3 2020, Rioja’s unemployment rate was 11.52 %, a year-on-year increase of over 2.5 points; its economic activity rate was 58.29 %; and the employment rate was 51.59 %.

On 30 September 2020, there were 132 492 workers paying social security contributions in Rioja, a decrease of 0.41 % compared to the same date of the previous year. 25 313 of these were self-employed, down 1.51 % on the previous year. In Spain as a whole, the fall in workers paying social security contributions was larger: 1.98 % and the number of self-employed fell by 0.18 %, much less than in Rioja. The businesses with the largest number of workers paying social security contributions are manufacturing industry; retail and wholesale; and health and social services.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, there were 17 272 unemployed on 30 September 2020 in Rioja, 21.20 % more than in the same month of the previous year. For Spain the increase was somewhat larger at 22.62%.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the number of contracts registered in Rioja between October 2019 and September 2020 was 143 3534, which is 21.18 % fewer than in the same period the year before. The decrease in Spain as a whole was 23.39 %. A total of 34.69 % of the contracts in Rioja were awarded to foreign nationals, while in Spain as a whole this figure was 20.45 %.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the coronavirus pandemic has altered the outlook on the labour market. The activities in which employment has been least hardest hit are agriculture, the agrifoods industry, the chemical industry and activities which could be carried out via teleworking.

The activities boosted by the crisis are the pharmaceutical industry; healthcare; and public services in general.

Occupations with modest demand for labour are:

• in the agricultural sector, in September and October (the harvest season):
  • field crop and vegetable growers;
• in the service sector:
  • healthcare and social work: care workers in institutions; general medical practitioners; medical specialists; nursing professionals and nursing assistants in institutions;
  • information and communications technology: data analysis, cybersecurity, experts in blockchain, automation and artificial intelligence; remote service; cloud programs; big data specialists; e-commerce experts;
  • logistics and transport: transport (logistics) service staff; delivery drivers.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the coronavirus crisis has not affected all sectors equally. The wholesale and retail trades, hotels, catering and tourism-related businesses and jobs have performed worst in terms of employment and business closures. The collapse in investment and consumption has also influenced many other economic activities.

Rioja has high recorded unemployment figures, especially for key workers. This situation is noted especially in:

• occupations in the construction sector;
• in the service sector:
  • chefs, waiting staff, kitchen assistants, car and taxi drivers, shop sales assistants, cleaners and assistants, receptionists and bank employees;
• in the industrial sector

The autonomous community of Aragon, situated in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula and sharing a border with France, is made up of the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza. It is the fourth largest autonomous community in Spain in area (47 720 km²). According to provisional data compiled by the INE from the municipal registers, in early 2020 it had 1 330 445 inhabitants and a population density of nearly 28 inhabitants per km². This makes it one of the most sparsely populated autonomous communities in Spain, well below the national average of 93 inhabitants per km². The population is spread among 731 municipalities, of which just over a quarter have over 500 inhabitants. Over half of the population lives in Zaragoza. In addition to being a sparsely populated region, it has an ageing population and high dependency rate. Aragon’s foreign population stands at 12.14 %, a major increase in the past year. The largest numbers of foreign nationals are from Romania, Morocco, Nicaragua, Colombia and China.

In Q2 2020, according to estimates from the Aragonese Institute for Statistics (IAEST), Aragon’s year-on-year GDP variation was -21.4 %, which is 17.6 percentage points less than in Q1 2020. This reflects the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on market conditions. This year-on-year growth rate was  0.7 % higher than that recorded for Spain as a whole (-22.1 %), but 7.3 percentage points below that achieved by the EU Member States in total (-14.1 %). Aragon continues to rank fifth among Spanish autonomous communities in terms of per capita GDP.

According to the Central Directory of Companies (DIRCE), in 2019 the number of businesses trading in Aragon fell by 0.41 % to 91 114. Of these, 79 % were from the services sector, more than half had no employees on the payroll and approximately 44 % had between 1 and 49 employees. Only 21 companies had more than 1 000 employees, and 152 had more than 200 employees.

The 2019 economic report on Aragon by the Basilio Paraíso and Ibercaja Foundation concludes by pointing out that, while Aragon has felt the economic slowdown more than the rest of Spain, the region's situation is satisfactory. It is the autonomous community with the fourth lowest unemployment and the fifth highest per capita GDP. Its exports have reached a record level and the economically active population has risen, among other factors. The same report identifies the Government of Aragon’s high indebtedness as a negative factor.

The region’s largest companies are located in the province of Zaragoza. Opel España, with more than 5 000 workers, is the largest company and various supply companies depend on it. Others of note in this province are Saica paper and packaging, Alliance Healthcare (pharmaceutical distributor), Simply supermarkets, Pikolín (mattress manufacturer), Inditex (textile manufacturing and marketing), and BSH (domestic appliances). In the province of Teruel, mention should be made of UTISA, part of the FINSA group (veneer sheets and wood-based panels), Ronal Ibérica SAU (rollers and bath screens), Casting Ros (automotive components), Térvalis group (fertilisers), Piezas y Rodajes, S.A. (foundry) and Röchling Automotive. Huesca is home to the pharmaceutical company Bieffe Medital (Baxter group), Becton Dickinson (clinical equipment) and Ercros (chemicals). The primary and agrifoods sector is a staple industry in this province, especially Litera Meat y Fribin (meat processing) and the fodder companies Piensos Costa, Mazana Piensos Compuestos, Cincaporc and Agropienso.

Favoured by the region’s geographical location, logistics is a key industry in Aragon. Zaragoza is equidistant from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao and Toulouse, which means that over 25 million people live within a 300 km radius. Aragon has logistics hubs at Zaragoza (Plaza, the biggest goods and transport hub in southern Europe), Huesca (Plhus), Teruel (Platea), Fraga (PlFraga) and Monzón, as well as the Zaragoza Maritime Terminal (TMZ). Aragon also has the second busiest Spanish airport in terms of cargo (Zaragoza) and the biggest airport in Spain and in Europe in terms of parking, maintenance and the recycling of aircraft (Teruel), which is in the process of growing.

Amazon is planning to launch a new Amazon Web Services (AWS) Europe region which will comprise three zones in Aragon: Huesca, Villanueva de Gállego and El Burgo de Ebro. It will be the seventh AWS region in Europe and will join existing regions in Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Stockholm and Milan.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, Aragon experienced a rise in new jobs and a decline in unemployment figures for 6 consecutive years up to 2019, when there were signs of slowdown. In Q3 2020, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) recorded a 4.69 % drop in employment, but also a 19.99 % increase in unemployment figures. The unemployment rate in Aragon is 11.9 %, i.e. 4.36 percentage points below the national average, placing Aragon among the five autonomous communities with the lowest unemployment rates. In September 2020 the figures for social security contributions were negative. Registered unemployment rose sharply on the previous year, and recruitment fell considerably.

Recruitment in the service sector has declined most, mainly in businesses related to tourism and catering, accommodation services, food and beverage services, creative industries, arts and entertainment and sport, leisure and fitness. Others, such as residential care staff, health, education and transport have maintained their levels. In industry, the sectors with most contracts of employment are basically motor vehicle manufacture, where numbers have declined considerably, and foodstuffs, which has maintained better levels. Pharmaceutical production, the chemical industry and furniture making have remained unaffected. Agriculture is the sector which has performed best, maintaining its recruitment despite the difficulty of movement experienced by seasonal farmworkers. There are fewest hires in construction, where civil engineering recruitment has declined least.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, despite the high unemployment figures, there are signs of difficulty filling job vacancies at certain times of year, in specific industries.

This occurs on farms, which need seasonal labour, in logistics, which needs lift-truck operators or couriers, cargo handlers and delivery drivers. The same applies in the service sector, which is experiencing a shortage of care workers in institutions, specialist doctors, specialist professional nurses and nursing auxiliaries in hospitals. Difficulties have also arisen filling teaching vacancies in certain technical subjects and in vocational training.

Similarly, the production system as a whole requires qualified technology staff such as data analysts, computer engineers, technicians specialised in big data and IT security, as well as business intelligence and data mining experts, systems analysts and computer network professionals.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the number of jobseekers continues to outstrip job openings in low-skilled occupations. In the industrial sector this applies to manufacturing labourers not classified under other headings. In the service sector it applies to waiting staff, cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments, clerical support staff, domestic cleaners and home helps, receptionists and shelf stackers.

Geographically, the autonomous community of Madrid is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Its borders roughly form an equilateral triangle, the base of which adjoins the province of Toledo to the south; its northern apex is at the Somosierra mountain pass. To the north and west it borders on the provinces of Segovia and Ávila and to the east on Guadalajara and Cuenca. Madrid is a single-province community and therefore has no provincial government. Its capital city is also the capital of Spain. It has an area of 8 028 km² and is home to 6 747 425 inhabitants and a population density of 840 residents per km², according to provisional data from municipal registers in January 2020. The population is unevenly distributed throughout the territory as it is concentrated in large cities such as the capital and its ten municipalities with over 100 000 inhabitants, while some rural villages have fewer than 50 inhabitants. It is the third most populated autonomous community in Spain, after Andalusia and Catalonia. For the fifth consecutive year, the population has increased in the community of Madrid, growing by 1.73 % between 2019 and 2020. This increase exceeds the national average, which was 0.86 %. Thus Madrid is the autonomous community with the second highest population growth. Madrid has a cosmopolitan population: 12.74 % of its inhabitants are foreign nationals. It ranks second after Catalonia in terms of its number of foreign residents. The increase in population in Madrid is partly due to the rise in the number of foreign residents, which grew by 5.23 %, compared to the 0.31 % increase in the number of Spanish nationals. This reflects falling birth and rising death rates (1.25 %). The average age of Madrid’s population is 42 (35 in the case of foreigners and 43 for Spaniards). The immigrant population lowers the average age of Madrid’s population. In Madrid 17.83 % are aged 65 or over. Those under 15 account for 14.95 %. The bulk of the population is between the ages of 16 and 64. Women account for 52.15 % of the population.

Madrid’s economy is one of the largest in Spain. This is mainly because the city of Madrid is the nation’s capital. According to Spain’s preliminary regional accounting estimates, for the fifth consecutive year, Madrid's GDP grew by 2.5 % in terms of volume in 2019 with respect to 2018. This increase slightly outpaced growth in Spain as a whole (2.0 %). Economic forecasts for 2020 are closely dependent on the spread of COVID-19 and its effect on employment, which is very severe. It is hoped that economic activity will develop very uniformly, according to branch of activity. Financial institutions predict a fall of 10-13 %, depending on how the pandemic progresses. At EUR 35 876, per capita GDP in the community of Madrid is the highest in Spain. In relative terms, the community of Madrid’s per capita GDP was 35.7 % higher than the national average. The economy is led by the services sector, followed at a considerable distance by industry and construction.

According to DIRCE, in January 2019, 16 % of Spain’s companies were located in Madrid, making it the autonomous community with the second highest number of companies. The INE has changed its methods, using the business as a statistical concept for the first time. Hence we have not calculated year-on-year changes in relation to last year. The service sector accounts for more than 86 % of the region’s companies, with construction and industry far behind. The following sectors account for over 4 % of the province’s business activity: wholesale and retail trade, real estate, legal and accounting services, building construction, healthcare, food and beverage services, office administrative and other business support activities, land and pipeline transport, specialised construction activities, architectural activities. It is also worth highlighting the following activities, which have a proportionately greater weight in the province than in the whole of Spain: other professional scientific and technical services, advertising and market research, office administration and other business support activities, legal and accounting services, other professional scientific and technical services, programming, consultancy and other IT-related activities, education.

According to the Labour Force Survey, the economically active population in Madrid grew by 0.41 % year-on-year with an activity rate of 61.79 %, one of the highest in Spain. Employment fell by 2.93 % to 53.61 %. Unemployment rose by 29.66 % to 13.25 %. The community of Madrid recorded an employment and activity level above the national average, and unemployment below the national average. The breakdown of the occupied population by economic sector confirms the predominance of the services sector, accounting for 84.90 % of Madrid’s population in work, followed by industry (9 %) and construction (6.01 %). While services account for the bulk of the population in work, it is also the sector with the greatest number of unemployed persons.

There was a 1.47 % fall in the number of social security contributors, compared with the same month of the previous year. A by-sector breakdown of contributors to the social security system again shows that services tops the list with 86.91 %, followed by industry with 6.75 % and construction with 6.17 %.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory for Madrid, the number of unemployed persons registered in Madrid rose by 23.91 % in September 2020 compared with the same month of the previous year. Madrid is the community with the fourth highest unemployment. Employment was up across the board, i.e. for men and women of all ages and in all sectors. The number of contracts registered between November 2017 and September 2018 decreased by 25 % compared with the same period of the previous year. 18.22 % of recruits are foreign and 22.51 % of contracts entered into were with this group. The decline in activity affected all ages and sectors. The greatest falls in registered contracts were in services and agriculture. Industry and construction declined by more than 25 %.

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According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in the current situation – provincial unemployment at 13.25 % and 424 411 registered unemployed persons in September 2020 – it is safe to say that there are enough jobseekers to fill all vacancies. These job openings may not be filled for other reasons, such as workers’ lack of qualifications, non-acceptance of working conditions, lack of experience, etc. However, there are some occupations for which it is harder to find workers, and where there is a significant amount of recruitment (accounting for over 1 % of recruitment in the province). The following large groups fall into this category:

care workers in institutions and nursing professionals were hired mainly in healthcare and residential care.

However, there are occupations accounting for less than 1 % of recruitment in which it is also difficult to fill job vacancies:

• social work professionals, especially residential care staff and social work without accommodation
• general medical practitioners, required in healthcare and residential care
• painters and decorators in the construction sector

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory in Madrid, in September 2020 the following occupations registered the highest number of job applications:

shop sales assistants, clerical support staff not classified under other headings, waiting staff, chefs, bricklayers and general receptionists.

Castile and Leon is located in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. With an area of 94 224 km², it is the largest region in Spain. It has nine provinces, over 2 200 municipalities and borders on nine of Spain's 17 autonomous communities. This makes it a communication hub linking many Spanish regions.

The region’s population is very old. Over a quarter (25.64 %) are over 65. Foreigners account for 5.87 % and most originate from Romania, Morocco or Bulgaria. On 1 January 2020 there were 2 393 285 inhabitants.

According to the Central Directory of Companies, in 2019, there were 161 407 companies in Castile and Leon, 83.64 % of which had fewer than three employees and only 58 of which had more than 500 employees.

Regional GDP contributed 4.8 % to the national figure in 2019 (preliminary estimate) and was spread across the sectors as follows: services 69.44 %; industry 19.82 %; construction 7.04 %; and agriculture 3.70% (excludes net production taxes). Per capita GDP for Castile and Leon stood at EUR 24 758, far below the figure for Spain (EUR 26 438) for 2019, the latest figure available.

Monthly wage costs per head stood at EUR 1 652.62, compared with EUR 1 804.08 for Spain as a whole. Costs per hour worked were EUR 15.23, compared with a national average of EUR 16.88, according to the INE’s Quarterly Labour Cost Survey for Q2 2020.

The region's economically active population stood at 1 109 400 in Q3 2020. Of these, 970 800 were in work and 138 500 out of work. 6.8 % of the employed population was engaged in agriculture, 16.9 % in industry, 6.8 % in construction and 69.6 % in the service sector. Eight out of every hundred people in work were foreign (7.89 %). Unlike in 2019, in 2020 there were more people employed from countries outside the EU (40 900) than from the EU (35 600). This reduction is linked to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU on 31 January 2020.

At 12.49 %, unemployment was lower than for Spain as a whole (16.26 %) in Q3 2020. More women (14.48 %) than men (10.80%) were unemployed. There were nearly twice as many foreigners (22.0 %) unemployed as Spanish (11.56 %). The all-in unemployment level (Spanish + foreigners) has fallen in the third quarter of every year since 2013, except in 2020, when it rose, reflecting the extraordinary impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on employment.

According to Labour Force Survey data (Q3 2020), 85.2 % of employed persons had full-time contracts and 14.8 % had part-time contracts. As regards daily working hours, there are significant differences between male and female workers, in that only 5.5 % of men worked part-time, compared with 26.2 % of women.

As for employment stability, 76.9 % of people in work were on permanent contracts, and 23.1 % on fixed-term contracts. By gender, fewer men (19.8 %) were on fixed-term contracts of employment than women (26.8 %).

In September 2020, 918 384 were registered with social security, of whom 727.546 were employed, 190 763 self-employed and 75 affiliated with the special scheme for coal mining. Year-on-year social security registrations were down 1.14 % on the same month of 2019, i.e. 10 548 fewer workers.

The following were the economic sectors with most workers registered with social security (under the general and self-employed schemes), accounting for two fifths of this total: wholesale and retail; automotive repairs, including motorcycles (137 944); manufacturing industry (130 351); and health and social services (108 923).

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in the year between 1 October 2019 and 30 September 2020, the number of persons hired was 756 842, 22.76 % fewer than in the same period of the previous year (1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019). Of the total hired, 15.21 % were foreign.

At the end of September 2020 there were 153 384 unemployed workers registered with the Castile and Leon public employment service, i.e. 15.68 % more than in the same month of the previous year.

According to the labour costs survey conducted by the INE in Q2 2020, there were 74 346 job vacancies in Spain, of which 4 058 were in Castile and Leon, mainly in the service sector.

The largest companies located in Castile and Leon are: Renault España, Grupo Antolín, Michelin España Portugal, Nissan Motor Ibérica, Grupo Europac (paper and card), Iveco España, Campofrío Alimentación, GSK Farmacéutica, Benteler Ibérica Holding, Calidad Pascual, Grupo Siro, Galletas Gullón and Cobadú.

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According to information obtained from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, there should be no difficulties filling both existing vacancies and newly created positions, in view of the current economic situation, the large number of unemployed and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the production system and labour market.

The difficulties filling vacancies in some sectors may be due to a lack of incentive deriving from aspects such as: geographical and functional mobility; thresholds of acceptance of terms of employment (low pay, short-term contracts) or lack of infrastructure and communications in some parts of the region. On the other hand, in some occupations there may be a mismatch between the qualifications offered by workers and those required by the employers.

The jobs which prove harder to fill will be related to health and personal care, technicians and maintenance staff in the metalworking and automotive sectors, software programmers and developers, data analysts, environmental professionals and forest firefighters. Most sectors are requiring workers with new knowledge and skills to adapt to new production needs, e.g. digital skills, skills in new technologies and cross-cutting skills relating to emotional intelligence.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, despite significant improvement, the 2008 economic crisis had a major impact on labour market structure, the movement of workers into sectors with better employment prospects and the professional profiles required. The expectations that existed are going to be further modified by the health crisis of 2019 to 2020. Labour supply and demand continues to be very mismatched in most sectors and occupations. There is an excess of jobseekers registered with the public employment services which it is not possible to match with vacancies, especially in the following occupations:

• shop sales assistants
• clerical support staff not classified under other headings
• bricklayers
• chefs
• cashiers and ticket clerks
• car, taxi and van drivers
• farmworkers, gardeners and horticultural and nursery growers
• hairdressers

Castile-La Mancha is the third largest region in Spain after Castile and Leon and Andalusia. It is made up of five provinces (Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo). It covers an area measuring 79 462 km², i.e. 15.70 % of the national territory. According to provisional municipal register data processed by the INE on 1 January 2020, Castile-La Mancha had a population of 2 044 408 (50.06 % men and 49.94 % women), accounting for 4.31 % of the Spanish total. Its population density is 26 inhabitants/km², which is lower than the Spanish average (94 inhabitants/km²). A total of 186 507 foreign nationals were registered in their municipalities of residence, accounting for 9.12 % of the total regional population. By the end of the year, the number of foreign nationals had gone up by 8.37 %, a bigger increase than in the previous year.

According to the preliminary INE estimate of GDP at market prices in 2019, the regional economy grew by 1.3 % compared to 2018, in line with the national average. The sectors contributing the most to the regional economy (18.86 %) are: government and defence; compulsory social security; education; health and social services. The other most relevant sectors are manufacturing (13.78 %) and wholesale and retail trade; automotive repair including motorcycles; transportation and warehousing; and hotels and catering (17.77 %).

According to the Central Directory of Companies, on 1 January 2019 there were 128 106 active companies in Castile-La Mancha (0.36 % more than in 2018). Of these companies, 53.53 % have no paid employees and 38.73 % have between one and five. Only 0.50 % employ more than 50 workers.

The number of social security contributors has decreased slightly (0.20 %) compared with September 2019. The largest percentage, excluding the agricultural and domestic workers’ schemes, are employed in wholesale and retail trading (16.61 %), followed by manufacturing industries (15.69 %), government and defence, compulsory social security (10.79 %), healthcare and social services (9.61%), construction (8.93 %) and transport and storage (6.67 %).

According to the Q3 2020 Labour Force Survey, the economically active population totalled 979 200, a fall of 0.56 % compared with the same period of the previous year. This fall was lower than in the rest of Spain (0.82 %). The employed population in Castile-La Mancha fell by 3.21 % to 799 600, slightly below the national figure (3.51 %). The unemployed population increased by 13.25 % to 179 500. This was below the increase for Spain as a whole (15.82 %). Castile-La Mancha has the sixth highest regional unemployment rate (18.34%), 2.8 percentage points higher than the national figure. Employment and activity rates hardly varied compared with the same period in 2019 (49.19 % and 57.83 % respectively). The bulk of the employed population works in the service sector (71.27 %), followed by industry (15.23 %), construction (7.75 %) and agriculture (5.75 %). Employment fell across all sectors except services, which recorded a 0.14 % increase.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, at the end of September 2020 the number of unemployed jobseekers registered in Castile-La Mancha totalled 178 088, accounting for 4.72 % of the national total. Foreign unemployed persons account for 12.10 %. The number of unemployed persons in the region increased by 9.26 %, well below the national increase (22.62 % ).

A total of 791 258 employment contracts were registered between 1 October 2019 and 30 September 2020 in Castile-La Mancha, which was 18.19 % fewer than in the same period of 2018 to 2019, below the 23.39 % decrease in Spain as a whole. The percentage of foreign workers increased (26.22 %), above the national average (20.45 %).

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in the present situation there are no shortages on the regional labour market in almost any economic activity. The Observatory adds that, given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market, there should be no difficulty filling vacancies.

In Castile-La Mancha, if there is a sector where output remains similar to previous years, it is agriculture, in which a need for labour specifically arises during the grape harvests (September) and olive harvests (December/January). The occupational group of agricultural labourers is particularly relevant in this context.

Significant recruitment continues in the food industry, which is closely linked to agricultural activity and therefore often affected by seasonal factors.

The jobs most needed in the service sector are nursing professionals, general medical practitioners and medical consultants. The wholesale and retail trades need sales representatives, while logistics, transport and storage most need freight handlers, lift-truck operators, couriers and delivery drivers, heavy goods vehicle drivers and car and van drivers. Labour shortages remain in technology for systems analysts, graphic and multimedia designers and ICT user help technicians.

Industry needs labour in occupations such as industrial and agricultural mechanics and fitters, welders and oxy-acetylene cutters and machine tool calibrators and operators.

This year, due to COVID-19, the hotel and catering sector has no recorded need for labour.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, there is a high number of unemployed jobseekers in most of the occupations with the highest number of contracts registered. There is still a surplus of jobseekers in the construction industry, especially in restoration work and low-skilled occupations.

Based on trends in the number of unemployed persons and the imbalance between recruitment and demand, the following occupations have the highest numbers of excess candidates:

• Agriculture: farmworkers and qualified gardeners and horticultural and nursery growers.
• Industry: sewing machine operators; shoemaking machine operators; weaving and knitting machine operators; printers; woodworking-machine tool setters and operators.
• Construction: cabinet-makers and related workers; floor layers and tile setters.
• Services: chefs and kitchen assistants, waiting staff, shop sales assistants, car, taxi and van drivers, hairdressers, clerical support staff not classified under other headings, hotel receptionists, cashiers and ticket clerks.

Situated in the south-west of Spain, the autonomous community of Extremadura borders Castile and Leon to the north, Castile-La Mancha to the east, Andalusia to the south and Portugal to the west. It is divided into Spain’s two largest provinces: Badajoz and Caceres, which together account for 8.23 % of the entire area of Spain.

On 1 January 2020, Extremadura’s population stood at 1 063 575 inhabitants, down 0.39 % on the previous year (source: INE). This accounted for 2.24 % of the total population of Spain and is spread across 388 municipalities. A total of 56.2 % of these have fewer than 1 000 inhabitants, while only one in ten has more than 5 000. With a population density of 25.55 inhabitants/km², it is one of Spain’s most sparsely populated regions. The foreign proportion of the population is 3.25 %. This rose by nearly 6 % in 2019, but is clearly below the national average of 11.43 %. The nationalities with the largest numbers are Romanian, Moroccan and Portuguese. Only four out of ten are from the European Union.

The COVID-19 crisis has affected the economic growth of the autonomous community of Extremadura. Extremadura’s contribution to national GDP in Q2 2020 will be 1.9%. The Extremadura Statistics Institute (IEEX) has estimated a 14.1 % year-on-year decrease in GDP for this period, in real terms. The distribution of gross regional value added per economic sector was as follows: services, 63.62 %; industry, 11.13 %; construction ,6.99 %; and agriculture, 10.33 %. Only the agricultural sector has  grown since Q2 2019 (0.1 %). All the others recorded negative changes: services, 12.1 %; construction, 17.1 %; and industry, 20.3 %. Per capita GDP in 2019 was EUR 19 432, EUR 7 006 below the national average and the lowest of all the autonomous communities.

The region's business fabric consists mostly of micro-enterprises. According to the INE Central Directory of Companies, on 1 January 2019 the number of businesses registered in Extremadura was 67 867, 96.50 % of which had 10 workers or fewer, and over half had no employed workers at all. In 2019, the number of businesses in Extremadura grew by just 1.21 % compared with the previous year. The economic activities accounting for the largest number of businesses were: retail, except automotive; food and beverages; wholesale and agency work, except automotive; building construction; and specialist construction work.

According to the Labour Force Survey, in Q3 2020 Extremadura ranked among the bottom five regions for economic activity and employment levels, and among the top for unemployment. These regions included the autonomous cities. Economic activity, employment and unemployment in Extremadura stood at 54.80 %, 43.36 % and 20.88 % respectively whereas the nationwide figures were 57.83 %, 48.43 % and 16.26 %. Economic activity levels for Extremadura’s foreign residents were higher, especially for EU nationals, but employment was lower, and unemployment higher, again with the exception of EU nationals, whose recorded employment exceeded 63 %, with unemployment at 20.72%.

In Q3 2020, the number of employed persons in Extremadura was 387 500, representing growth on Q2, but down on Q3 2019. The bulk of employed persons (71.77 %) work in the service sector; 10.55 % work in industry, 10.50 % in agriculture and the remaining 7.17 % in construction. On the other hand, in September 2020, the region had 0.23% fewer social security contributors than in the same month of 2019. The figure was as low as 0.21 % for employed workers, but stood at 0.29 % for the self-employed. Most contributors were in the service sector.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, a total of 559 029 contracts of employment were recorded from October 2019 to September 2020, 9.31 % of which were entered into by foreigners. Contracts of employment in the region were down 18.77 % on the same period of the previous year. The decline applied across all economic sectors. Services were most affected, since about nine out of ten contracts were in agriculture and services. Hires of foreign workers in the region also fell, though at a somewhat lower rate. The construction sector recorded an increase of around 18 %; all other sectors fell. Three of every four contracts signed by foreign workers were registered in the agricultural sector and almost 18 % in the service sector.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, there were 106 049 unemployed persons registered in Extremadura on 30 September 2020. Of these, 4.20 % were foreigners. These figures are 8.88 % and 25.62 % fewer respectively than on that same date the previous year. Unemployment in Extremadura rose across all economic sectors, compared with the same period of the previous year, especially in agriculture, and also affected foreigners. However services (by a large margin) and agriculture were the sectors with the highest concentration of unemployed persons, also among foreigners.

In conclusion, the labour market in Extremadura suffered a sharp recession, due to the impact of the pandemic on the regional economy. Activity and occupation rates were below the national average, while unemployment was higher. The regional unemployment trend was more negative for foreign workers, except those from the EU.

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According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, recruitment in Extremadura fell across all economic sectors, both for Spanish nationals and foreign nationals, except for foreign construction workers.

On the other hand, in Extremadura, only 6 % of jobs for which contracts were registered simultaneously recorded increases in recruitment and falls in numbers of unemployed jobseekers. The most dynamic occupations in Extremadura’s labour market include the following:

• call centre employees
• qualified forestry workers and related jobs;
• nursing professionals
• fruit, pulse, vegetable and related preservers
• domiciliary care workers

Demand also exists for qualified technology staff such as data analysts, computer engineers, technicians specialised in big data and IT security and business intelligence and data mining experts.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, unemployment in Extremadura rose across all economic sectors. In over half the jobs in which contracts were registered, the number of unemployed rose and at the same time the number of contracts fell.

There was a notable imbalance between the number of unemployed jobseekers and the number of contracts entered into in the following occupations during the period under review:

• shop sales assistants
• kitchen assistants
• fitness instructors and leisure activity leaders
• car, taxi and van drivers
• waiting staff
• chefs

Catalonia is located in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula. It covers an area measuring 32 108 km². In the north it shares a border with France and Andorra, the Mediterranean Sea lies to the east, Aragon borders on the west and the autonomous community of Valencia to the south. The region is flanked by the sea along 870 km and by land along 793.5 km. The autonomous community of Catalonia is divided into four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona. Barcelona is the capital.

According to provisional municipal register data on 1 January 2020, Catalonia’s population totalled 7 778 362, with 3 825 977 men and 3 952 385 women, marking a 1.34 % increase over the previous year’s figures. The population density was 242.26 inhabitants per km². The foreign population residing in Catalonia accounts for 16.19 % of the total, 8.59 % higher than the previous year’s figure. Catalonia accounts for 16.40 % of the total Spanish population. The largest number of inhabitants live in Barcelona (73.83 %), followed by Tarragona (10.50 %), Girona (10.04 %) and Lleida (5.63 %). The following 11 municipalities with over 100 000 inhabitants, ranked from highest to lowest population, are: Barcelona, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Terrassa, Badalona, Sabadell, Lleida, Tarragona, Mataró, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Reus and Girona.

According to initial estimates made in 2019 by the Spanish Regional Accounting service, per capita GDP in Catalonia was EUR 31 110, 17.67 % higher than the Spanish average (EUR 26 438), making it the country’s fourth largest regional economy in relative terms. Catalonia’s economy did well in 2019, growing by 2.2 % compared to the 2018 figure while Spain as a whole grew by 2.8 %.

According to the most recent update of the Central Directory of Companies (DIRCE), there were 620 031 companies (not counting those in the agricultural sector) with premises in Catalonia, marking an increase of 1 665 active companies compared with the same period the year before (0.27 %), but the business community comprised mainly small and medium-sized enterprises.

57.71 % of the companies had no paid employees, 37.57 % had fewer than 10 workers and 4.72 % had more than 10. The highest percentage is for businesses with one or two workers, which account for 25.45 % of the total. Of all the autonomous communities in Spain, Catalonia had the most active companies registered, accounting for 18.44 % of the total number. The bulk of those companies were in the service sector (81.90 %), particularly in the retail and wholesale trades, which accounted for 20.01 % of the sector. Construction accounted for 12.27 % and industry for 5.83 %.

According to the Q3 2020 labour force survey conducted by the National Statistics Institute, in Catalonia there are 3 830 500 economically active people, of whom 3 323 900 are employed and 506 600 unemployed. The unemployment rate is 13.23 % while the employment rate stands at 60.52 %. With respect to Q3 of the previous year, the employed population has contracted by 4.00 % and the number of unemployed persons has increased by 20.02 %.

In September 2020 there were 3 341 309 people on the social security rolls in Catalonia, 2.79 % fewer than in September 2019. Of those, 83.47 % contribute under the general social security scheme, 16.33 % as self-employed workers and the remaining 0.20 % under the mariners’ scheme. The five activities with the highest number of social security contributors are wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, manufacturing, health and social work, administrative and support service activities and, in fifth place, hotels and catering.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in this most recent period (October 2019-September 2020), a total of 2 456 526 contracts of employment were registered in Catalonia, a year-on-year variation of -27.13 %. The rate of foreigners recruited was 25.14 %. In September 2020 there were 478 201 unemployed persons and the annual variation from September 2019 was 28.33 %. 21.71 % of foreigners were unemployed.

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According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, between October 2019 and September 2020 the number of contracts in Catalonia decreased by 27.13 % compared to the previous year (October 2018-September 2019). This decline is mainly a consequence of the recession caused by COVID-19, which has affected all production sectors, and services, hotels and catering the most severely, not forgetting exports. Agriculture remained stable, since this is a staple sector. Nevertheless, the main occupations to benefit from this crisis are technology-related (due partly to the impetus given to teleworking, which necessitates greater cybersecurity for businesses); and in healthcare which generates a series of spin-off occupations. Furthermore, the increase in takeaway meals and e-commerce (picking/packing) has generated employment. The occupations in question are:

• data analysts
• data scientists
• robotics programmers
• database and network professionals not classified under other headings
• information and communications technology (ICT) operations technicians
• ICT user help technicians
• general medical practitioners and medical consultants
• nursing professionals
• orderlies
• medical laboratory technicians
• care workers in health services not classified under other headings
• security guards not classified under other headings
• heavy goods vehicle drivers
• couriers, delivery drivers and luggage porters
• waste collectors and other key workers

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the number of unemployed persons increased by 28.33 % in Catalonia in September 2020 compared to September 2019. The jobs with most registered unemployed, as a result of COVID-19, are in the most affected sectors: retail and wholesale, hotels and catering and, to a lesser extent, industry, transport and construction. They are as follows:

• manufacturing labourers not classified under other headings
• shop sales assistants
• cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments
• clerical support staff not classified under other headings
• waiting staff
• freight handlers
• building construction labourers
• bricklayers
• kitchen assistants
• sales representatives
• chefs
• general receptionists
• cashiers and ticket clerks

The community of Valencia is located in the central-eastern part of Spain and comprises three provinces: Alicante/Alacant, Castellón/Castelló and Valencia/València. It covers an area of 23 259 km² and the population density is 212 inhabitants/km², well over the Spanish average of 93 inhabitants/km².

According to provisional data from municipal registers at 1 January 2020, the population of Valencia was 5 054 796, accounting for 10.66 % of the total Spanish population, and marking a 1.02 % increase on the previous year. Women account for 50.72 %. With 750 513 foreign nationals, accounting for 14.85 % of the total population there, this autonomous community is home to the third highest number of foreign nationals in Spain. Women account for 49.66 % of this grouping. A total of 53.83 % of the foreign nationals are Europeans, mainly from Romania, the United Kingdom, Italy and Bulgaria. The largest numbers from outside the EU are from Morocco, Colombia, Algeria and China.

The initial estimate of GDP for 2019 was EUR 115 456 million, putting this autonomous community in fourth place in terms of GDP, behind Catalonia, Madrid and Andalusia. The Spanish Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) estimates that inflation-adjusted GDP could fall by 13.2 % in 2020 but bounce back by 7.9 % in 2021. This is in line with estimates by the government of this autonomous community. Risks of a downturn basically derive from the uncertainty of how long the pandemic will last, and what long-term economic effects it will have. Production in the community of Valencia is heavily dependent on activities related to tourism, the sub-sector most affected by the crisis.

There were approximately 363 428 active companies on 1 January 2019 according to the most recent update of the Central Directory of Companies (DIRCE). This marks an increase of 1.95 % over the previous year. The service sector accounted for 81.50 % of all active companies. Wholesale and retail companies accounted for 22.00 % of the total, construction for 12.60 % and industry for 5.90 %. According to the national business ranking published in elEconomista.es, there are some notable companies in the community of Valencia, including the three largest in Alicante, based on sales, profits and number of employees: the ferry company Balearia Eurolíneas Marítimas, the tyre manufacturer Neumáticos Soledad SL and Sprinter Megacentros del Deporte SL (sportswear). The three largest companies in Castellón are Grupo Pamesa Cerámica SL, UBE Corporation Europe SA and Martinavarro SL. The three largest companies in Valencia are Mercadona SA, Consum SCOOPV and Anecoop SCOOP.

According to Labour Force Survey data from Q3 2020, there were 2 450 300 economically active persons in Valencia, 46.17 % of whom were women. At 58.08 %, the activity rate was just above the national figure.  There was an economically active population of 2 027 500, of whom 44.65 % were women. 74.10 % of the employed population were in services, 17.10 % in industry, 6.20 % in construction and 2.60 % in agriculture. In that same quarter, 422 800 of the economically active population were unemployed, of whom 53.50 % were women. The unemployment rate in the community of Valencia was 17.26 %, similar to the national average. The unemployment rate was 19.99 % for women and 14.91 % for men.

On 30 September 2020, the number of social security contributors was 1 872 770, marking a year-on-year variation of -0.46 %. The five best performing activities in terms of the number of social security contributors compared with the same month of the previous year are: electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, with a 14.33 % increase; healthcare, up 7.72 %;education, up 6.72 %; government, defence and compulsory social security, up 5.63 %; and information and communications, up 2.06 %. On that same date, there were 352 292 self-employed workers registered in the community of Valencia, accounting for 10.82 % of the total number of social security contributors on that scheme in Spain.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, there were 437 364 unemployed persons registered with the community of Valencia’s public employment service in September 2020, 19.87 % more than in September 2019. 58.25 % are women, 8.8 % under age 25 and 47.83 % over 45. Broken down by economic sector, 68.22 % were registered as unemployed jobseekers in the service sector, 12.51 % in industry, 7.70 % in construction, 8.03 % had no previous employment history and 3.53 % were seeking jobs in agriculture. Lastly, 17.10 % of the unemployed persons were foreign nationals.

As regards recruitment, the community of Valencia reported 1 638 759 employment contracts registered in the period between October 2019 and September 2020, which was 9.46 % of the total registered in Spain, and marked a 22.10 % fall compared to the same period of 2018-2019. 42.40 % were entered into with women, 19.72 % with persons under the age of 25 and 25.93 % with persons aged over 45. The economic activities with the highest recruitment figures were: hotels and catering, wholesale and retail, manufacturing industry, agriculture and livestock farming, forestry and fisheries, transport and warehousing, clerical and support services and construction. Of the total number of contracts, 23.82 % were entered into with foreign nationals.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the health crisis caused by COVID-19 and the measures adopted to contain it have led to a sharp rise in the Valencia's unemployment and in the country as a whole. Thus, it is not possible to speak of sectors that require a workforce in the short term. But the opposite is happening, according to the regional government of Valencia: while a 7.10 % fall in employment is expected for 2020, in 2021 the figure may rebound by 2.10 %.

Indeed, circumstances such as the imbalance between employment supply and demand, strongly seasonal trends in some economic activities, a lack of training in some cases and other employment conditions can also create demand for labour.

Thus farming needs seasonal labour. The service sector is experiencing a shortage of qualified residential care staff, specialised doctors and nurses and hospital nursing auxiliaries. Difficulties have also arisen filling teaching vacancies in certain technical subjects and in vocational training.

Thus the production system as a whole requires qualified technology staff such as data analysts, computer engineers, technicians specialised in big data and IT security and business intelligence and data mining experts.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the health crisis caused by COVID-19 is generally affecting all economic sectors. There has been a substantial increase in the number of unemployed persons in most occupations, especially the following sectors:

• Services: shop sales assistants, cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments, waiting staff, kitchen assistants, shelf stackers, cashiers and ticket clerks, general receptionists, general office staff and clerical support staff not classified under other headings.
• Industry: fruit, pulse, vegetable and related preservers, footwear and related production machinery operators, sewing machine operators, automotive mechanics and repairers, packing, bottling and labelling machinery operators, plastic production machinery operators, glassware and ceramics production workers.
• Construction: bricklayers; painters and decorators; building and related electricians; plumbers and pipe fitters.
• Agriculture: qualified farmworkers, gardeners, horticultural and nursery growers.

The autonomous community of the Balearic Islands comprises the islands of the Balearic archipelago. Located in the Mediterranean Sea off the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, it has an area of nearly 5 000 km² with a total coastline of approximately 1 800 km. It has just over 1 171 000 inhabitants, 18.76 % of whom are foreigners, according to the municipal rolls where they are registered. In 2020 the islands registered a 1.87 % increase in population and, according to INE estimates, if this demographic trend continues over the next few years, the Balearic Islands will be one of the few autonomous communities with rising population and net inward migration.

The Balearic Islands are consolidating their position as one of Spain's most dynamic autonomous communities. Activity levels have returned to their levels of before the 2008 crisis. However, this is one of the regions where the pandemic has had the most negative impact, due to its high dependence on tourism. This has been one of the sectors most affected by the crisis. Recovery is expected to be a slow process, with challenges to viability for many businesses related to catering, accommodation, wholesale, retail, transport and leisure. According to estimates by the government of the autonomous community, GVA (gross value added) for 2020 could fall by -28.8 %, though a recovery is expected in 2021, taking it to 11.1 %.

In this context, despite the measures which are being taken, the negative effects of the pandemic on the labour market remain evident. Thus, in Q3 2020, according to Labour Force Survey (LFS) figures, employment stood at 573 900, down 7.40 % on Q3 2019. The number of unemployed rose by 32 700 in one year, taking the rate to 13.28 %, five points higher than in Q3 2019.

From an employment point of view, the business structure of this community is highly fragmented into small business units, to the extent that eight of every ten companies have just one or two employees or are individual or family undertakings. However it does have a small number of large companies in the areas of tourism, passenger transport, trade, private security and travel agencies. At the end of September 2020 the number of companies that had employees and were registered with the social security system was 41 137, marking a decrease of 7.3 % compared with the same period of the previous year. More than half of those companies operate in wholesale and retail trade, hotels, catering and construction. The biggest losses in the numbers of businesses in absolute terms over the past year was in wholesale and retail, hotels and catering, transport and warehousing.

492 189 workers were paying social security contributions at the end of September, 12.19 % fewer than one year ago. All sectors are showing negative changes except construction, health and social services and education. Hotels, catering, arts and transport have been most affected, because the restrictions on activity and movement have had a greater impact on them. The presence of workers from other countries is large, accounting for 18.55 % of payers of social security contributions.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, there were 77 112 registered unemployed persons in September of this year, 90.98 % more than a year ago. The level of unemployed foreigners is 26.17 %, 12 points above the national average.

As for contracts of employment entered into, the total number has fallen in the past 12 months, compared with the same period of the previous year. This represents a 42.53 % drop. Fixed-term contracts, which are most common in the service sector, have shown the most marked fall. The proportion of foreigners hired during the last 12 months now stands at 29.50 %. The most hired workers from EU Member States were from Italy, Romania, Germany, the United Kingdom and Bulgarian. The most non-EU workers were from Morocco, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador and Senegal.

In addition to the effects of the pandemic, the Balearic labour market reflects structural problems, such as high unemployment levels (highest among young people and people aged over 50), long-term unemployment and clear short-term and seasonal characteristics. As well as these imbalances, the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution must be faced. These are going to affect the whole country, and include robotisation, artificial intelligence and the internet of things.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the impact of the health crisis caused by COVID-19 has been a strong rise in unemployment in the autonomous community and the country as a whole, despite the measures adopted to contain the crisis. There is no demand for labour in any sector in the short term. However, in some circumstances there are specific mismatches between supply and demand for labour. These are sometimes a lack of training, and sometimes working conditions which generate demand for labour, as for care workers in health services not classified under other headings, general practitioners and medical consultants, nursing professionals and care workers in institutions.

Thus the production system as a whole requires qualified technology staff such as data analysts, computer engineers, technicians specialised in big data and IT security and business intelligence and data mining experts. In addition to professional skills, employers are looking for versatile people who are flexible and able to adapt and have a knowledge of languages.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the health crisis caused by COVID-19 is affecting all economic sectors generally. There has been a substantial increase in the number of unemployed in most occupations, with the highest numbers of job applications in the groups of service workers, shop and market sales, key workers, clerical and office support staff, mechanical skilled workers and artisans, and other skilled trades.

The occupations with the highest number of job applications are:

• cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments
• shop sales assistants
• waiting staff
• kitchen assistants
• clerical support staff
• shelf stackers
• chefs
• freight handlers
• cashiers and ticket clerks
• general receptionists

Andalusia is located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in the southernmost part of the European continent. It borders with the autonomous communities of Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha to the north, Murcia to the east, the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and with Portugal to the west. It consists of eight provinces (Almeria, Cadiz, Cordoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaen, Malaga and Seville). Andalusia is Spain’s second-largest autonomous community (87 597 km²) and has the largest population on 1 January 2020 (INE provisional statistics). It has 8 460 261 inhabitants, a population density of 96.6 inhabitants/km² and has recorded a 0.55 % increase in this figure since last year. The most populous provinces are Seville, Malaga and Cadiz. Andalusia has 700 215 foreign residents, accounting for 8.28 % of the population and reflecting a 6.81 % year-on-year increase.

According to data from the INE Central Directory of Companies (DIRCE), on 1 January 2019 the business fabric of the autonomous community of Andalusia comprised 518 532 registered companies, 54.29 % of which had no employees (281 497). Of the total number of companies with paid workers (237 035), 91.26 % have fewer than ten workers and 7.56 % have between 10 and 49 workers, reflecting the predominance of small business. The economic activities with the largest numbers of companies are: retail, except motorcycles and other motor vehicles; food and beverage services; wholesale, except motorcycles and other motor vehicles; and building construction.

According to published INE data (Spanish Regional Accounts), the autonomous community of Andalusia contributes 13.3% of Spanish GDP. The service sector is the community's predominant economic activity, followed by industry, construction and agriculture. The first estimate of Andalusian GDP for 2019 indicated a 2.1 % rise on 2018 in volume terms, similar to growth for Spain as a whole (2.0 %). Per capita GDP in 2019 was EUR 19 658, 2.9 % more than the previous year and 25.64 % below the national average.

Growth for Andalusia is difficult to forecast, due to the high level of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Analysts expect a sharp drop in Andalusian GDP in 2020 and that the course of the pandemic will determine the development of the economy. They expect that Andalusia could begin its recovery in the second half of 2021, when employment would increase.

According to Labour Force Survey (LFS) data from Q3 2020, of the total population aged 16 and over in Andalusia (7 024 200), 3 917 600 are economically active, 76.20 % of whom are employed and 23.80 % unemployed.

Unemployment in Andalusia in Q3 2020 stood at 23.80 % (women 28.51 % and men 19.97 %), one of the highest levels in Spain, exceeded only by Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands. The provinces of Jaen and Almeria recorded the highest unemployment levels, while the lowest are in Cadiz and Huelva.

Data from social security records show 60 437 fewer registered payers of contributions in September 2020 than in September 2019. The special scheme for self-employed workers is the only one showing a rise.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, there were 955 901 unemployed persons registered in Andalusia at the end of September 2020, 25.22 % more than in the same month of the previous year. The percentage of unemployed foreign nationals in Andalusia was 8.54 %. The number of contracts of employment registered from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020 was 20.31 % lower than in the same period of the previous year. The service sector was especially affected. More than 14 % of the contracts of employment registered in Andalusia went to foreign nationals.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the economic sectors which generated most jobs in Andalusia before the current pandemic, and have been hardest hit by the crisis, are: hotels and catering and tourism-related sectors such as passenger transport, travel agencies, tour operators, entertainment, museums and other cultural activities.

The Andalusian agri-foods industry is benefiting from foreign demand. Its export potential could continue to generate jobs, though account must be taken of the international political situation, in addition to the course of the pandemic.

The rise in jobseekers and the fall in recruitment across all economic sectors suggest that there is no shortage of labour to meet any demand which may be generated. Nevertheless, there is some difficulty finding workers in health and personal care, whether due to a shortage of professionals, a lack of public funding or the precarious nature of contracting.

Strong seasonal demand and movement restrictions may cause a labour shortage specifically in seasonal harvesting on farms.

The technology sector needs highly qualified staff with technical skills and business acumen to cope with changes in business models.

The following stand out, in principle, as occupational groups in which vacancies are difficult to fill in Andalusia:

• • nursing professionals
  • general medical practitioners
  • care workers in institutions
  • domiciliary care workers
  • systems analysts
  • software developers
  • ICT user help technicians

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in September 2020 in Andalusia, the highest percentage of unemployed jobseekers was recorded in occupations requiring a medium to low qualification level.

The occupational groups with a surplus of unemployed labour are listed below in order of quantity. Note that they add up to 50 % of the total unemployed in Andalusia:

• • cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments
  • shop sales assistants
  • clerical support staff not classified under other headings
  • manufacturing labourers not classified under other headings
  • waiting staff
  • building construction labourers
  • farmworkers
  • bricklayers

The region of Murcia is located in the south-east of the Iberian peninsula between Andalusia and Valencia and between the Mediterranean coast and Castile-La Mancha. It covers 11 314 km² and has a population density of 133.55 inhabitants/km². On 1 January 2020 the population was 1 510 951, a year-on-year increase of 1.14 %. Men account for 50.08 % of the total. Of the total population, 14.69 % were foreign nationals, which was 5.10 % more than in 2019, and the fifth highest percentage in Spain. The main countries of origin were Morocco, Ecuador, United Kingdom, Romania, Bolivia, Ukraine, Colombia, Bulgaria and China.

The economy of Murcia accounts for 2.6 % of the entire Spanish economy and grew by 2.7 % in 2019, compared to 2.0 % for the whole of Spain. But the second half of 2020 reflects the powerful impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a fall of 16.2 %: still below the 22.1 % drop nationwide. Estimates suggest a 10 % fall for 2020 (the nationwide figure is 11.5 %) followed by a 6 % increase in 2021. This region is benefiting from the support of farming and the food industry, which are proving more resistant to the pandemic-induced crisis, and from the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, paper, water catchment, purification and distribution. On the other hand, garment manufacture, the leather and footwear industry, drinks manufacture, metallurgy, machinery and equipment manufacture and furniture manufacture have suffered a downturn. Building and public works have also suffered. In the service sector, tourism is most negatively affected; retail, somewhat less so; and goods transport has been damaged less, partly supported by the rise in e-commerce.

Murcia has 43 838 companies, marking a decrease of 0.09 % over the previous year’s figure. Of these, 98.41 % have fewer than 50 workers and 80.26 % have five or fewer. The most important companies are El Pozo, Hero, J. García Carrión, Alimer and Estrella de Levante in the food industry; Repsol, SABIC and Iberdrola in chemicals and energy; HEFAME in pharmaceuticals; Navantia in shipbuilding; Ferrovial in civil engineering works; PC Componentes in the components trade, and Primafrio in transport and logistics. The cooperative movement is more active in Murcia than the Spanish average. Currently it employs over 25 000 people. The most important sectors are agriculture, wholesale and retail, education and health. Industry is also growing.

Moreover, the number of workers paying social security contributions in September this year is 580 992, a year-on-year increase of 0.37 %. 67.51 % of these workers are registered under the general scheme and 17.31 % as self-employed (the latter figure rose by 0.74 %). The following are the most important activities based on the number of workers paying social security contributions: agriculture, wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage services, education, specialised construction, government, the food industry and land transport.

According to the figures provided by the INE Labour Force Survey, in Q3 2020 there were 747 100 economically active persons in Murcia, of whom 618 600 were employed and 128 500 unemployed. The economic activity rate reached 60.65 % while the unemployment rate stood at 17.21 % – above the Spanish average of 16.26 % – and was higher for women than men. Year-on-year change in the number of unemployed was 26.05 % (Spain: 15.82 %). There was a very slight increase in the number in work (0.08 %). Murcia is the only region of Spain where the figure is rising. The only increase in the number in work – and it was slight – was in services. All other sectors recorded a decline, especially industry and construction. Unemployment fell for both sexes (though more sharply for women) and across all age brackets, particularly for the under-19s.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in September 2019 there were 118 338 unemployed persons registered at the employment offices, accounting for 3.13 % of the total nationwide. Of these, nearly 59 % were women. Approximately 21 % were under the age of 30, while more than 46 % were aged over 45. 14.55 % were foreigners and 41.66 % had been unemployed for more than a year. Unemployment rose by 22.64 % compared to September 2019, similar to the national average. A total of 901 383 contracts of employment were registered over the last 12 months, a year-on-year increase of 17.40 %, though this percentage is less than the national average. Only 33.37 % of contracts were awarded to women but 45.60 % were awarded to foreigners, the second highest percentage in Spain. Only 8.61 % of these were permanent contracts. Nevertheless, contract stability has increased.

Year-on-year growth in terms of number of contracts was highest for the following economic activities: employment-related activities; other manufacturing industries; forestry and forest husbandry; textile industry; manufacture of metal products except machinery and equipment; programming, consultancy and other IT-related activities; beverage manufacture; residential care.

In the opinion of a series of experts, prospects in agriculture and livestock farming are good, even in the current circumstances of the pandemic. The same applies to the food industry, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, renewable energy (especially solar), health and social services, telecommunications and ITC, and transport and logistics. The sectors hardest hit, basically by the restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are: tourism, hotels and leisure; the retail trade; construction; and finance and insurance.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, COVID-19 is having an noticeable impact on jobs. Some, which were in strong demand in previous years, currently are not due to the temporary closures of businesses due to the emergency. Many are unemployed or laid off. Among the sectors where prospects remain good, Murcia’s agriculture and food industries need qualified personnel, such as agronomists and related professionals with advanced technological know-how in organic agriculture, biotechnology and production. There is also demand for: field crop and vegetable growers; fruit, pulse, vegetable and related preservers; and operators of machinery for processing food and similar products. Agricultural labourers are also in demand.

Industry in general requires industrial and production engineers, chemical engineers, mechanics and agricultural and industrial machinery repairers with experience of electromechanics, automation and mechatronics; adjusters and operators of digitally controlled machine tools. Very important: it is assumed that professionals in these occupations possess Industry 4.0 skills.

In services, the occupations most in demand are, in healthcare: nursing professionals, general medical practitioners and medical consultants; in trade: sales representatives, buyers, especially those with skills in foreign trade and logistics; in logistics, transportation and storage: management policy specialists; managers of supply, transport, distribution and related businesses; lift truck operators; heavy goods vehicle drivers; and car, taxi and van drivers; and, across all occupations: systems analysts, ITC user help technicians; and graphic and multimedia designers.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the main jobs where supply exceeds demand in the region are the following; in some cases, this is still due to the reduced activity resulting from the pandemic:

• call centre employees
• enquiry clerks
• customer service employees
• waiting staff
• chefs and kitchen assistants
• hotel receptionists
• hairdressers
• shop sales assistants
• shelf stackers
• cashiers and ticket clerks
• key workers

Ceuta is an autonomous city belonging to Spain, on the African rim of the Strait of Gibraltar, to the east. It is on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea while, to the west and south west, it borders on Morocco. Ceuta covers an area of 19.48 km².  Residents from four different cultures (Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu) live together in this small territory. The urban areas are on the isthmus and part of the outer zone known as the Campo Exterior. The city centre and oldest districts are near the port and on the slopes of Mount Hacho, on a small peninsula known as Almina. According to provisional municipal register data compiled by the National Statistics Institute (INE), on 1 January 2020, Ceuta had a population of 83 842, of which 42 370 (50.54 %) were men and 41 472 (49.46 %) were women. The population density was 4 304 inhabitants per km². The foreign population in Ceuta on that date was 5 640 and accounted for 6.73% of its total population, down 2.62 % from the previous year.

Thanks to its strategic location, the port of Ceuta plays an important role in transit through the Strait of Gibraltar and links the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its rugged terrain and shortage of water, energy and raw materials, both the primary sector, except fisheries, and the secondary are of little economic importance. The construction sector is also very restricted due to the scarcity of land. Nevertheless, Ceuta enjoys free port status and a series of tax advantages which encourage trade.

According to the preliminary estimate of GDP in 2019 drawn up by the INE, the economy of the city of Ceuta recorded annual volume growth of 1.0 %, one percentage point below GDP growth for Spain’s economy as a whole. The largest contribution (42.4 %) is made by the government and defence sector; compulsory social security; education; and health and social services. The other most relevant sectors are the wholesale and retail trades; automotive repair including motorcycles; transportation and warehousing; hotels and catering, representing 18.7 %; and real estate activities, representing 9.30 %.

According to the Central Directory of Companies (DIRCE), on 1 January 2019 there were 3 789 active companies in Ceuta (3.24 % fewer than in 2018). Of these companies, 52.57 % have no paid employees and 39.98 % have between one and five paid employees. The largest proportion of those companies are engaged in trade (37.98 %), followed by hotels, catering and related activities (7.81 %), construction (7.65 %) and legal and accounting services (5.46 %).

The number of workers paying into the social security system decreased by 4.93 % in comparison to September 2019. The largest percentage of social security contributors, not counting those contributing to the special schemes for agricultural and domestic workers, were engaged in trade activities (20.65 %), government, defence and compulsory social security (14.68 %), health and social services (11.22 %), hotels and catering (8.42 %), and administrative and business support activities (8.13 %).

According to the Q3 2020 Labour Force Survey, the economically active population totalled 36 700, which is less than in the same period the year before. This decline is reflected both in the working population and in the unemployed, standing at 10 000 people. This indicates an unemployment rate of 27.14 %, the highest in Spain.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory at the end of September 2020, a total of 12 887 unemployed jobseekers were registered in Ceuta. The number of unemployed has risen 5.29 %, compared with the same date of the previous year. This is still below the national rise in the same period (22.62 %). Foreign unemployed persons account for 12.52 %.

According to the Occupations Observatory, between October 2019 and September 2020, a total of 14 930 contracts were registered in Ceuta, 9.18 % of which were entered into with foreigners. Recruitment in the city was down 19.71 % on the same period of the previous year. The drop affected all economic sectors. The only increases were in activities such as government, building maintenance and gardening services.

Recruitment of foreign workers (15.33 %) also decreased in this period. A total of 69.48 % of contracts placed with foreign nationals were in the services sector and 27.45 % in construction. Fewer foreigners were hired across all sectors.

Recruitment was concentrated in the services and construction sectors, which recruited almost eight out of every ten workers, above all in occupations in hotels and catering, transport, health, social work, trade, building maintenance and gardening and education.

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According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in the current situation there are hardly any labour shortages in any of Ceuta’s economic activities.

In recent years, recruitment has increased in various activities which, with the exception of specialised construction activities, are all in the service sector: warehousing and transport-related activities; food and beverage services; office administration and other business support activities; building maintenance and gardening; and security and detective work; and residential care.

In view of the ratio between job applicants and hires, the jobs which could generate most employment opportunities are concentrated in healthcare: nursing professionals, care workers in institutions; and others such as wireless broadcasting and audio-visual recording; security guards; or collectors of waste and recyclable materials.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory in Ceuta, the labour market situation remains unchanged from previous years, the services sector accounting for the largest surplus workforce. Generally, the excess of supply over demand is concentrated in jobs requiring a low level of vocational qualification. Examples are: freight handlers; labourers in manufacturing industry not classified under other headings; cleaners and assistants in offices, hotels and other establishments; building construction labourers, public works and maintenance labourers; forestry workers and shelf stackers.

The labour market is also unable to absorb the excess of supply in slightly more highly qualified jobs such as: general office staff; shop sales assistants; cashiers and ticket clerks; care workers in health services not classified under other headings; and caretakers.

The autonomous City of Melilla is located in north Africa on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and bordering the Rif region of Morocco. Melilla covers an area of 13.40 km². A characteristic of the people of Melilla is multiculturalism, a key feature of their society, in which people of mainland Spanish, Hindu, Roma, Jewish and Riffean origin coexist. According to provisional municipal register data compiled by the INE, on 1 January 2020 Melilla had a population of 87 076, of whom 44 173 (50.73 %) were men and 42 903 (49.27 %) were women. The population density was very high, at 6 498 per km². The foreign population in Melilla on that date was 13 363 and accounted for 15.35 % of its total population, up 0.73 % from the previous year.

According to the preliminary estimate of GDP in 2019 drawn up by the INE, the economy of the city of Melilla grew by 1.2 % in terms of volume, 80 % of the rate of GDP growth for Spain’s economy as a whole. The sectors contributing most (42.8 %) are: government and defence; compulsory social security; education; health and social services. The other most relevant sectors are wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; hotels and catering, accounting for 17.7 %; and real estate activities accounting for 9.7 %.

According to the Central Directory of Companies (DIRCE), on 1 January 2019 there were 5 304 active companies in Melilla (13.65 % more than in 2018). Of these, 59.80 % have no employees and 34.73 % have between one and five. The largest proportion of those companies are engaged in trade (40.29 %), followed by land transport (11.56 %), and activities related to construction (7.11 %) and hotels and catering (5.88 %).

The number of workers paying into the social security system decreased by 0.76 % in comparison to September 2019. The largest percentage of contributors, not counting those contributing to the special schemes for agricultural and domestic workers, were engaged in wholesale and retail (20.14 %), government, defence and compulsory social security (13.68 %), administrative and business support activities (11.73 %) and hotels and catering (7.85 %).

According to the Q3 2020 Labour Force Survey, the economically active population totalled 40 200, higher than in the same period the year before. The employed population also increased, as is reflected in the decrease in the unemployed population, which stands at 9 700. This indicates an unemployment rate of 24.14 %, the highest in Spain after Ceuta and the Canary Islands.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, at the end of September 2019 a total of 9 561 unemployed jobseekers were registered in Melilla. The number of unemployed persons in Melilla declined by -3.18 % from its level on the same date the previous year. Foreign unemployed persons account for 23.56 %.

According to the Occupations Observatory, between October 2019 and September 2019 a total of 18 457 contracts of employment were registered in Melilla, 14.19 % of which were entered into with foreign nationals. Recruitment in the city was down 20.04% on the same period of the previous year. The drop affected all economic sectors. The only increases were in activities such as healthcare.

Recruitment was most prolific in the services and construction sectors, which recruited almost nine out of every ten workers, above all in occupations in the fields of accommodation and food services, transport, health, social work, trade, services to buildings and landscape activities, social work, health, education and transport.

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According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, there are hardly any economic activities with a shortage of workers in Melilla’s labour market.

In recent years, recruitment has increased in various activities which, with the exception of specialised construction activities, are all in the service sector: wholesale and retail trade, land transport, warehousing and transport-related activities, food and beverage services, education or sports, recreation and entertainment.

In terms of the proportion of jobseekers in certain occupations to the levels of recruitment therein, the occupations with the best employment prospects are principally those relating to healthcare: medical consultants, nursing professionals or care workers in institutions; and also in other occupations such as social work professionals.

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the number of jobseekers continues to outstrip the number of job openings in low-skilled occupations. Based on trends in the number of unemployed persons and the imbalance between recruitment and demand, the following occupations have the highest number of excess candidates:

• manufacturing labourers not classified under other headings
• public works and maintenance labourers
• farmworkers
• messengers
• chefs
• security guards
• caretakers
• domiciliary care workers
• building construction labourers
• cashiers and ticket clerks
• construction (structural) and related trades workers not classified under other headings
• shelf stackers
• primary school teachers
• data recorders
• librarians
• farmworkers, gardeners and horticultural and nursery growers

The Canary Islands are an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean, they are a Spanish autonomous community and one of the European Union’s outermost regions. Its coordinates are north latitude 27º 37’ and 29º 25’ and west longitude 13º 20’ and 18º10’. It is a little more than 1 200 km from the Iberian Peninsula and just over 2 000 km from the Spanish capital.

Topographically, the archipelago consists of eight islands and politically of seven self-administering islands. The eighth, La Graciosa, is in the process of becoming an official district.

The autonomous community of the Canary Islands consists of two provinces: Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The first of these comprises Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma, while the second comprises Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

The region has an area of 7 446.95 km², 2 174 474 inhabitants at 1 January 2020, and a population density of 292 inhabitants per square kilometre. This autonomous community ranks eighth in Spain in terms of population. The population of the Canary Islands has risen by 0.98 % since 2019. Growth over the last 5 years stands at 3.53 %.

The foreign population residing in the autonomous community of the Canary Islands (291 639) accounts for 13.41 % of the total population. The main countries of origin, accounting for more than 15 000 residents each, are, in rank order: Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Morocco, Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba.

The business structure of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands is based on small and medium-sized enterprises. According to data from the INE Central Directory of Companies, the business fabric of the Canary Islands comprises 151 661 registered companies, of which 57.59 % (87 348) have no employees and 38.10 % have one to nine employees. Only 0.41 % employ more than 50. According to the national business ranking published in elEconomista.es, the largest companies in the Canary Islands are: Unión Eléctrica de Canarias Generación, Disa Suministros y Trading SL, Dinosol Supermercados SL, Traveltino 2009 SL, Disa Red de Servicios Petrolíferos, Prodalca España, Globalia Travel Club Spain and Sarton Canarias.

According to Labour Force Survey (LFS) data from Q3 2020, of the total population aged 16 and over in the Canary Islands (1 924 900), 1 093 000 are economically active, of whom 819 300 are employed and 273 700 unemployed. The employment rate was 25.04 %, nearly 9 percentage points above the national average. This gave the Canary Islands the second highest unemployment rate after the autonomous City of Ceuta. The spread of unemployment across the provinces was 25.68 % in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and stood at 24.41 % in Las Palmas. The activity rate reached 56.78 %, a little under one percentage point below the national average (57.83 %).

In 2019, services were the dominant economic sector, accounting for 85.71 % of regional GDP, especially wholesale, retail, transport, hotels and catering which account for 34.21 % of the regional total. On the other hand, in September 2020, this sector accounted for 81.88 % of businesses registered with social security and 83.59 % of contributing workers. Nationally, those percentages were 74.26 % and 75.24 %, respectively.

Between January and September 2020, a total of 2 684 433 tourists visited the islands, down 63.41 % on the same period the previous year. The United Kingdom and Germany are the main source countries, other than Spain.

According to information from the SEPE Occupations Observatory, in September 2020 there were a total of 254 280 registered unemployed in the Canary Islands (24.32 % more than in September 2019), accounting for 6.73 % of the total unemployed in Spain. Of these, 114 541 were men and 139 739 women. 75.87 % were registered in the service sector, 9.35 % in construction, 7.82 % had never worked, 3.72 % were in industry and 2.16 % in agriculture. Compared with September 2019, big rises were recorded across all economic sectors, especially agriculture, with a 31.21% increase and services, with a 26.09 % increase.

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According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the present economic situation caused by the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has produced a sharp rise in the number of registered unemployed in this autonomous community. With the surplus labour in most occupational groups, the large number of unemployed, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the production system and labour market, there should be no difficulties filling both existing vacancies and newly created positions.

The jobs which are proving hardest to fill in this situation are concentrated in the healthcare sector (general practitioners, medical consultants, nursing professionals or dentists) and some manufacturing-related posts (metal processing plant operators; machinery and fixed installation operators).

According to the SEPE Occupations Observatory, the COVID-19 health crisis has particularly affected this region, since its production system is largely service-based (retail and wholesale, hotels, restaurants, catering and transport). However, the crisis has also had a severe impact on other activities, such as construction and maintenance of buildings.

The ratio of labour supply to demand continues to be very unbalanced in most sectors and occupations. This leads to an excess of job applications being registered at the public employment services, which it is still not possible to satisfy. This circumstance is the same both in jobs requiring low to medium qualifications and in other, highly qualified, positions. The following is a list of these:

• directors of supply, distribution and related companies
• wholesale and retail managers
• designers of clothing and other products
• graphic and multimedia designers
• accountants
• management policy specialists
• human resource policy and service specialists, and related occupations
• technical and medical sales professionals (excluding ITC)
• archivists and museum curators
• physics and chemistry technicians
• agricultural and fisheries technicians
• buyers
• estate agents
• administrative and executive secretaries.
• employees responsible for appointments
• data recorders
• telephonists
• cashiers and ticket clerks
• childcare practitioners
• companions and valets
• farmworkers and qualified gardeners and horticultural and nursery growers
• mechanics and agricultural and industrial machinery repairers
• mechanics and electrical fitters
• dressmakers, embroiderers and related occupations
• sewing machine operators
• electrical and electronic equipment assemblers
• road sweepers
• farmworkers
• public works labourers
• freight handlers
• shelf stackers