Unemployment falls by 146,738 people in 2024, to its lowest level in 17 years, driven by services

Youth unemployment falls to historic lows and hiring marks its lowest figure since 2013 after indefinite employment decreased by 2.1%

Jan. 3 () –

Unemployment registered in the offices of public employment services registered a decrease of 146,738 people (-5.4%) in 2024, to a total of 2,560,718 unemployed, the lowest figure at the end of the year since 2007. The Ministry of Labor and Social Economy reported this Friday.

With the decrease recorded in 2024, unemployment has chained four consecutive years of declines after that recorded in 2021, when a record drop of 782,232 unemployed was experienced due to the end of the restrictions associated with the pandemic; the one registered in 2022 (-268,252 unemployed) and the one experienced in 2023 (-130,197 unemployed).

Thus, within the comparable historical series, which began in 1996, the drop in unemployment in 2024 exceeds that recorded in 2023, but remains below those of 2022 and 2021, in full recovery after the pandemic. In 2020, the first year of Covid, unemployment skyrocketed by 724,532 people, while in 2019 it was reduced by just over 38,000 people.

The 2.56 million unemployed with which 2024 closed has been reached after unemployment fell in December by 25,300 people compared to the previous month (-1%), its smallest decrease in a month of December since 2020, when rose by just over 36,000 people.

This decline in unemployment in December was concentrated in women, with 25,238 fewer unemployed (-1.6%), since among men it only fell by 62 unemployed (-0.01%). Among those under 25 years of age, unemployment fell in December by 10,903 people (-5.5%) and among those over 25 it fell by almost 14,400 people (-0.6%).

In seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment fell in December by 9,166 people compared to November.

SERVICES, AT THE LEAD OF THE DECLINES: 94,500 FEWER UNEMPLOYED IN 2024

Unemployment decreased last year in all economic sectors, especially in services, which left 94,500 unemployed during the year (-4.9%). They were followed, in absolute values, by construction, with 15,288 fewer unemployed (-7.1%), and industry, which registered a decrease of 14,521 unemployed (-6.7%).

Agriculture was very close, leading the declines in relative terms (-14.5%) after reducing its number of unemployed by 14,232 people. For its part, the group without previous employment reduced its volume of unemployed by almost 8,200 people compared to 2023 (-3.3%).

Unemployment fell in 2024 in both sexes, although in absolute values ​​it did so to a greater extent among women. Thus, female unemployment decreased by 85,411 women compared to 2023 (-5.2%), compared to an annual decline in male unemployment of 61,327 unemployed (-5.6%).

Thus, at the end of the year, the number of unemployed women stood at 1,531,562, its lowest figure since the end of 2008, and the number of unemployed men decreased by 1,029,156.

By age, unemployment among young people under 25 years of age fell by 4.2% in 2024, with 8,164 fewer unemployed than in 2023, reaching a historic low of 185,801 unemployed. For its part, unemployment among people aged 25 and over fell in 2024 by 138,574 unemployed (-5.5%), to a total of 2,374,917 unemployed.

ANDALUSIA AND MADRID LEAD THE DECLINE IN UNEMPLOYMENT IN 2024

Unemployment decreased in 2024 in all autonomous communities, except in Navarra, where it increased by 367 people. The greatest declines in unemployment, in absolute values, were recorded in Andalusia (-60,101 unemployed), Madrid (-11,836), the Canary Islands (-11,501) and Galicia (-10,666).

In relative values, the greatest decline in unemployment was for Extremadura (-8.9%), followed by Andalusia (-8.6%) and Galicia, where unemployment fell by 8.2% last year. These three communities were the only ones where the annual decrease in unemployment exceeded 8%.

For their part, the smallest falls in unemployment in absolute terms occurred in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, with 11 and 360 fewer unemployed than in 2023, followed by the Basque Country (-399 unemployed) and La Rioja, which reduced 799 unemployed in the year.

According to Labor data, registered unemployment among foreigners decreased in 2024 by 3,550 unemployed (-1%) compared to 2023, until the total number of unemployed immigrants stood at 352,360, which represents 2,887 fewer unemployed than there were in November. (-0.8%).

INDEFINITE HIRING DECLINES BY 2.1% IN 2024

Regarding hiring, in 2024 15,420,104 contracts were made, 0.16% less than in 2023 and its lowest figure since 2013. Labor interprets the decrease in the number of contracts as proof of lower turnover in the employment and an increase in the duration of contracts brought about by the labor reform.

Of all the contracts made last year, 6,481,992 were permanent, equivalent to 42% of the total, with a decrease of 2.1% over the previous year, while 8,938,112 contracts were temporary, with an increase of 1 .3% compared to 2023.

Within indefinite contracts, in 2024, 2,711,426 permanent full-time contracts were signed, 1.6% less, while part-time indefinite contracts totaled 1,562,536, with an increase of 0.7% compared to 2023.

Looking only at the contracts made in the month of December 2024, the employment offices recorded 1,182,706 contracts, almost 6% more than in the same month of 2023. Of all of them, 437,024 were permanent contracts, a figure of 5, 4% higher than December 2023.

In total, 36.95% of the contracts made in December were indefinite, a percentage that has reduced almost five points compared to the previous month, when the proportion of permanent contracts was 41.8%. Temporary contracts, for their part, represented 63%, with 745,682 contracts, 6.3% more than in December 2023.

Of the total permanent contracts signed in the last month of last year, 168,940 were full-time, 0.46% more than in December 2023; 165,368 were permanent-discontinuous contracts, 10.3% more, and 102,716 were permanent part-time contracts, 6.4% more.

THE COVERAGE RATE AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT REACHES A RECORD SINCE 2010

The Ministry has also reported that spending on unemployment benefits reached 1,993.4 million euros in November 2024 (latest data available), 4.7% more than in the same month of 2023.

The average gross amount of the contributory unemployment benefit increased last November by 2.5% year-on-year, to 1,007.5 euros per month.

The average monthly expenditure per beneficiary, not including the agricultural subsidy of Andalusia and Extremadura, amounted to 1,130 euros in the month of November, which represents 5.9% more.

The total number of beneficiaries of unemployment benefits stood at 1,802,453 people at the end of the penultimate month of last year, 1.2% less than in November 2023.

The unemployment coverage rate stood at 74.49% in November 2024, compared to 71.1% in November 2023. This is the highest rate since 2010, as highlighted by the Ministry.

Benefit data is always a month behind unemployment data, so this Friday the Ministry published the unemployment figures for December and the benefit statistics for November 2024.