Tourism employment continued to rise in October with 235,842 more registered in October

"Thanks to the progress of vaccination and the control of the pandemic, in October it has been possible to extend the season as we had proposed, resulting in an increase in employment of 10.9% compared to the same month in 2020. We are only 43,000 registrations away from reaching pre-pandemic levels, compared to the six years it took to recover tourism employment in the previous financial crisis", said the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto.

"The ERTE instrument has been key in favouring a rapid reactivation as the improvement of epidemiological data allowed the restrictions to be progressively lifted. October was the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year growth in the number of workers in the tourism sector registered for employment", added the minister.

With the end of the summer season, October is a month when employment in tourism traditionally falls. However, this year October ends with 25,278 more jobs than the previous month. Given that ERTE workers do not lose their Social Security registration, the increase in Social Security enrolment corresponds to the creation of new jobs.

By Autonomous Community

The improvement in employment data is particularly significant in the Balearic Islands, with an increase in relative terms of 77.7% in the hotel and catering and travel agency/tour operator branches.

Andalusia, Catalonia and the Valencian Community represent, together with the Balearic Islands, the largest increases in absolute values.

Branches of activity

The growth in employment in the month of October occurred in almost all branches of tourism activity: hotels and restaurants generated 182,784 new registrations (110,349 in food and beverage services and 72,435 in accommodation); other tourism activities (such as transport, car rental or shows) created 54,078 new affiliates, while in travel agencies there was a decrease of 1,020 workers.

Salaried employees, who account for 79.5% of total employment in the sector, increased by 13.6% in the last year and the self-employed grew by 1.6%, a rise recorded in all branches of activity, including travel agencies, with a 4% year-on-year increase in the number of self-employed.

Non official translation