August ended with a loss of 193,704 jobs in Spain, the most significant in this month since 2019, when the number of Social Security affiliates decreased by 212,984 people, according to data published this Tuesday by this administration, reflecting an unusual drop in the number of workers dedicated to the agricultural sector.
The number of people employed in the primary sector (agriculture, livestock, and fishing) fell below one million for the first time in at least 20 years in August, as neither the most updated series starting in 2008 nor the previous one - from 2004 - include any month in this period in which there were less than a million people working in the field in the country. In August of this year, there were a total of 991,285.
The data demonstrates the loss of human capital that this sector is experiencing in the country, in favor of the tertiary or service sector, in a year where farmers have staged countless protests in the streets due to the difficulties they face daily in their work: from bureaucratic burdens to the environmental standards they must meet to benefit from European aid, to the competition from imported products from other countries at much lower prices because they can be produced at a lower cost - not having to comply with these standards - which they consider unfair competition.
"The decreasing employment in the field is common to European societies," downplayed Joaquín Pérez-Rey, Secretary of State for Employment, in an interview on RNE this morning.
August is traditionally negative for employment in our country, as many positions associated with the high tourism season come to an end with the arrival of September, the end of vacations, and the return to school. This year has also been negative, but not as much as July, which ended with the greatest job destruction for that month in the last two decades. In relative terms - as a percentage of the total - the decline was more pronounced than in 2023 (-0.91% compared to -0.89%), but milder than in 2022 (-0.93%).
This month, the sector that has destroyed the most jobs - as also happened in June and July - has been the educational sector, which had 72,338 fewer affiliates than the previous month due to the closure during the peak summer month of many academies. It is followed by construction, with 19,060 fewer affiliates, due to the halt of many works; manufacturing industry (-17,373); administrative and support service activities (-16,969); and arts, entertainment, and recreation activities (-14,868).
In agriculture, 1,200 workers registered under the general regime, 747 self-employed workers, and 14,741 from the special agricultural system were dismissed.
Despite the decrease in affiliation - which was common to both the general and self-employed regimes, as well as to the coal, maritime, and special agricultural and household systems - the total number of Social Security registrations in August stood at 21,189,402. It is important to note that this total does not coincide with the number of people working in Spain, as anyone with more than one job will be registered more than once with different affiliations.
On the other hand, registered unemployment in public employment offices increased by 21,884 people in August, the smallest increase for an August since 2021, bringing the total number of unemployed in the country to 2,572,121, the lowest figure in an August since 2008.
Comparing the data with a year ago, Spain has 130,579 fewer unemployed and 482,902 more affiliates. Why, if the number of jobs is increasing so much, is the number of unemployed decreasing so little? The main reason is that the active population has grown significantly, driven by the arrival of foreigners who have joined the labor market, so if jobs are channeled to these new available individuals, unemployment has fewer chances of decreasing.