Social Security exceeded 2.9 million foreign contributors in November

Since December 2019, prior to the impact of the pandemic, the system has recorded 748,663 more workers from other countries, an increase of almost 34.6%. In the context of overall contribution, foreign workers account for 13.6% of the total number of employed people, six tenths of a percentage point more than a year ago.

Average contributors

In average terms and without seasonal adjustment, i.e. in the original series, Social Security registered 2,876,972 contributors from other countries, an increase of 209,307 in the last year.

This is the highest number of total foreign contributors to Social Security in both the original and seasonally adjusted series for a month of November.

A total of 31.3% are workers from EU countries. Of all the nationalities, Morocco heads the list of countries with the highest number of contributors, followed by Romania, Colombia, Italy, Venezuela and China.

Of the total number of foreign contributors, 1.6 million are men and 1.3 million are women, a figure that has increased by 35.2% since prior to the pandemic. The number of female contributors now exceeds 44% of the total number of foreign workers. The increase in the number of self-employed women is noteworthy: 8.3% more than in November 2023.

More than 70,000 Ukrainian contributors

Among other nationalities, there are 72,376 contributors from Ukraine, 25,117 more than in January 2022, prior to the start of the war, representing a 53.1% growth.

The majority of workers (83.2%) from Ukraine are in the General Regime, i.e., they are salaried workers, and 16.8% are self-employed.

Regimes and sectors

Overall, 83.6% of foreign national contributors are in the General Regime and total 2,405,852. This proportion is similar to that of total workers, with around 84% in the General Regime.

In the last 12 months, six sectors of activity have grown by more than 10%: Transport and Warehousing (12.6%), Financial Activities (11.4%), Administrative and Supporting Activities (11%), Hotels and Restaurants (10.6%), Health Care and Central Services (10.5%) and Agriculture, Livestock, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing (10.2%). The other sectors that exceed 9% are Energy Supply (9.9%), Water Supply (9.7%), Commerce (9.7%), Arts (9.7%), Manufacturing (9.5%) and Construction (9.4%).

The distribution by sector shows a diversification in the areas of employment with the highest number of foreign workers.

High added value activities

Meanwhile, this year-on-year increase is also remarkable in high value-added activities, with notable growth observed in sectors such as Financial Activities (11.4%), Information and Communications, which has increased by almost 7.2%, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, with an increase in the last year of 6.7%.

By activity, foreign workers account for more than 20% of the total number of contributors in sectors such as Hotels and Restaurants (27.8%), Activities of Extra-territorial Organisations and Bodies (27.8%), Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Fishing (24.1%), and Construction (21.5%). In the Special System for Household Employees, around 44% are foreign workers, and in the Special Agricultural System, more than 35%.

In November, the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers accounted for 465,940 contributors of other nationalities, i.e. 13.8% of the total number of self-employed people. In the last year, the number of foreign contributors in this regime has increased by 8.3%. As mentioned above, the number of self-employed women has also increased by 8.3% in the last 12 months.

Non official translation