Fátima Báñez stresses that 2017 set a new record in hiring of persons with disability

The Minister for Employment and Social Security, Fátima Báñez, announced in Valladolid that 2017 "once again set a new record for the hiring of persons with disability", which rose by 14.9% on the figure for 2016 to make five straight years of rises for this group. Furthermore, the number of new National Insurance contributors among persons with disability is growing at an annual rate of 10.66%, three times the national average.

Fátima Báñez, who took part in the El Mundo-Diario de Castilla y León Press Club event, "highlighted that employment among persons with disability is playing a very important role in economic recovery, "not only due to the need for Spain to harness their talents and specific skills, but also because we must learn from their unwavering example".

According to the Minister for Employment and Social Security, "committing to our capabilities does not mean renouncing quality employment", a statement that she backed up with the figures on the number of permanent employment contracts entered into with persons with disability, which set a new record in 2017.

"Castile and Leon has found a way to place itself at the vanguard in this regard, and was the second autonomous region to see the largest increase in the number of permanent employment contracts entered into with persons with disability in 2017", declared Fátima Báñez.

The Minister for Employment and Social Security placed great emphasis in her speech on digitalisation, the so-called 4.0 Industrial Revolution and on robotisation, which is going to change labour conditions and which "must become a framework of opportunities for everyone", including workers with some form of disability". For every two jobs that are shed in the real economy, five are created in the digital economy, to which end the major tool to be harnessed is training", added the minister.

Fátima Báñez also quoted the figures defining the situation in Castile and Leon in the field of employment, stressing the 77,524 jobs that have been recovered since the start of the economic recovery and on the quality of these jobs, pointing out that permanent employment grew in the region in 2017 by 11.4% on the figure for the previous year.

Against a backdrop of "more and better-quality jobs", the minister mentioned the need to urgently approve the General State Budget for 2018 to ensure stable growth and to strengthen the recovery and continue creating 500,000 jobs a year and achieve the main national goal of seeing 20 million people in work by 2020.

To this end, she called on responsibility from all parties in approving the public accounts for the coming year and to continue working together to push through measures aimed at the recovery, the creation of jobs for people with disability and work/home reconciliation, among many others.

"In 2018, regional governments will be able to receive more than 4 billion euros for healthcare, education and long-term care", added Fátima Báñez.

Non official translation