Intermoney | In Spain, the labour market behaved very favourably as unemployment continued to fall, reaching a total of 2,607,850 people in May, the lowest figure for a month of May since 2008 and also the lowest figure since August of the same year in question. On a month-on-month basis there are 58,650 fewer people unemployed, i.e. a cut of 2.2%. And if we look at the year-on-year terms, unemployment has fallen by 131,260 people, a drop of 4.79%. Likewise, employment added 220,289 more affiliates in May, for a total of 21,321,794 people, a higher increase than the same month last year and the biggest boost in a month of May since 2018.
The data is generally good, but there are nuances that discolour it. To begin with, the total number of contracts registered during the month of May was 1,339,653 and of this total, 576,080 are of an indefinite nature, accounting for 43% of the total; a percentage that is progressively dripping downwards. Within the registered contracts, this figure represents a drop of 72,408 (-5.13%) and a fall of -1.89% (116,435 fewer contracts) in terms of cumulative hiring in the first five months of 2024, reaching a figure of 6,053,588.
In cumulative magnitudes, 2,670,294 permanent contracts have been signed up to May 2024, which represents a decrease of 124,276 (-4.45%) compared to the same period in 2023. Quality also fell because both full-time permanent contracts and part-time permanent contracts experienced decreases, -49,333 (-4.02% a.) and -16,280 (-2.5%). We also do not like the fall in temporary employment (-5,996 and -2.35%) because this is a sign of exhaustion of the labour market.
