In seasonally-adjusted terms, 107,505 new national insurance contributors in November

The average number of national insurance contributors, in seasonally-adjusted terms, stood at 19,059,094 in November. This increase of 107,505 people in work is double the figure for the previous month.

For its part, the average figure without any seasonal adjustment, stood at 19,022,002 people in November, a rise of 31,638 contributors on October (up 0.17%). This is the largest rise since 2006 in average contributor numbers and the seventh straight month in which the social security system has increased the number of workers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compared with November 2019, the system has lost 354,877 average contributors, with the year-on-year rate down 1.83%.

Furthermore, in accumulated figures between 1 and 30 November, the number of national insurance contributors fell by 11,832, to close the month with 18,974,452 contributors. Of the 947,896 jobs lost from 12 March to 30 April, 578,090 have now been recovered.

On average, 10,157,060 men and 8,864,941 women are registered with the system. Men account for 53.4% of all contributors.

Compared with October

The average number of contributors rose in November by 31,638 compared with the average in October (up 0.17%). Contributor numbers have continued recovering following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend that began in May.

Specifically, monthly contributors under the General Regime rose in November to 15,690,668 (up 0.19%), an increase of 29,467. The Special Systems for Agricultural Workers rose by 18,167 and for Domestic Workers by 2,880.

Education was the sector posting the largest increase, up 3.27%. This sector posted a rise of 31,582 more workers under the General Regime than in the previous month. Growth was also recorded in Public Administration and Defence, Compulsory Social Security, with 12,953 more contributors (up 1.14%), Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services, with 12,984 more contributors (up 0.99%), among others.

In contrast, the largest decline was registered in Hotel and Catering, which posted 77,840 fewer contributors (down 6.99%). This was followed by Crop and Livestock Farming, and Fishing, with 2,345 fewer contributors (down 3.07%).

The Regime for Self-Employed Workers posted 3,267,873 average contributors, following an increase of 2,504 in the month (up 0.08%). This is the second straight month that the figure is higher than the one recorded in February before the outbreak of the pandemic. The Regime for Seamen posted 62,323 contributors, 322 fewer than in October (down 0.51%), and the Regime for Coal Workers stood at 1,138 contributors on average (down 11).

The Region of Valencia (up 1.2%), Andalusia (up 0.65%), Madrid (up 0.61%), Murcia (up 0.55%), Castile-La Mancha (up 0.26%), Catalonia (up 0.1%) and the Basque Country (0.09%) all saw rises in contributor numbers. The rest posted declines on the previous month, headed up by the Balearic Islands (down 4.34%) and La Rioja (down 1.28%).

Comparison with 2019

The Spanish social security system has lost 354,877 contributors (down 1.83%) over the last year. In June, at the time of the largest decline year-on-year due to the impact of the pandemic, the loss amounted to 893,360 contributors, at a year-on-year rate of 4.58%.

Murcia, which saw a year-on-year rise of 0.75%, Castile-La Mancha, with a rise of 0.5%, and Extremadura (up 0.3%) posted the largest year-on-year increases. The rest of the regions posted declines, particularly the Balearic Islands (down 6.67%), although this decline has moderated, standing at 17.64% the previous month.

The General Regime posted 351,087 fewer contributors than in October 2019 (down 2.19%). This figure includes the 7,947 contributors lost from the Special System for Agricultural Workers and the 16,861 from the Special System for Domestic Workers.

In turn, the Special Regime for Self-employed Workers posted 1,219 fewer contributors than it did a year ago (down 0.04%). The Special Regime for Seamen posted a decline of 2,402 (down 3.71%) and the Special Regime for Coal Workers posted a decline of 168 contributors (down 12.85%).

The number of people on Temporary Lay-off Plans (Spanish acronym: ERTEs) closed off the month of November with 746,900 people. This figure shows greater stability than in previous months, despite the increase in administrative restrictions in large parts of Spain stemming from the second wave of the pandemic, which has been compatible with the rise in national insurance contributors in recent months.

Non official translation