Santander (EFE).- Registered unemployment fell in Cantabria in March by 1,354 people, 3.88 percent compared to February, the second largest drop in relative terms among the autonomous communities, up to 33,525 unemployed.
According to data published this Tuesday by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, in year-on-year terms, 3,277 fewer unemployed were registered in March in Cantabria, 8.9 percent compared to a national decrease of 7.93.
The unions and employers of Cantabria have stressed that “traditionally” March is a good one for the service sector, of which they perceive “an increasingly pronounced dependency”, while the PP considers that the “specific increase” due to seasonal hiring does not it can “hide” the fact that the region creates, in general, “less employment” than the rest of Spain.
In the country as a whole, Social Security gained an average of 206,410 affiliates in March (1.02%), the largest increase for this month in the entire historical series; while unemployment has fallen by 48,755 people, 1.67 percent, to 2.86 million, the lowest figure for a March since 2008.
Only in the Balearic Islands unemployment fell more in relative terms than in Cantabria among the autonomous communities, with -4.17 percent, three tenths more. In addition, Melilla registered a fall of 3.89%.
The gender gap
The data once again shows the gender gap in unemployment in Cantabria, in whose employment offices there are 19,670 women registered compared to 13,855 men. There are 2,386 unemployed under 25 years of age, and in this case there are more men (1,217) than women (1,169).
Unemployment fell in all sectors, but especially in services, with 1,306 fewer people, while 31 fell in construction, 44 in industry and 28 in agriculture.
It only increased in the group without previous employment, by 57 people.
Of the 33,525 registered unemployed in Cantabria, 25,421 belong to the service sector.
They are followed by industry, with 2,456; construction, with 2,228, and far agriculture, with 471, while the unemployed who have never worked total 2,949.
Among foreigners, unemployment fell by 179 people compared to February (5.15%) and by 238 compared to March of the previous year (6.74%).
more contracts
Last month, 14,833 contracts were signed in Cantabria, 4,161 more than in February (38.99%) and 2,428 less than the previous year (-14.07%).
In Spain as a whole, recruitment also grew: 21.23 percent in monthly terms and, as in Cantabria, it registered a decrease in the last year, in this case of 21.34%.
Most of the new contracts in Cantabria were signed in the service sector (11,471), followed by industry, with 2,482.
The permanent reached 11,458 and account for about 30 percent of accumulated contracts in the region.
The data indicates that more permanent contracts were signed than in February (1,790 more, 56.08%), and that compared to the previous year they grew by 31.8 percent (1,202).
Benefits
Regarding benefits, in March, there were 20,085 beneficiaries in Cantabria, of which almost half, 10,023, received a contributory benefit; 8,963 a subsidy and 1,099 an active insertion income.
Total spending on unemployment coverage totaled 22.5 million euros, of which more than 16 correspond to contributory benefits, compared to 5.89 million for subsidies.
The average amount of the contributory benefit was 937 euros, lower than the national average of 961.6.
In March, 8,330 applications for unemployment benefits were submitted in Cantabria and 8,149 registrations were made, with a recognition period of 0.80 days compared to 1.54 for the country as a whole.
Membership
The number of Social Security affiliates rose by 2,694 in Cantabria in March compared to February, an increase of 1.22 percent that is two tenths above the national average.
Social Security affiliates in Cantabria in March were 223,973, of which 181,636 were in the General Regime, 41,113 were self-employed and 1,225 in the Sea sector.
Compared to March 2022, affiliation to Social Security rose 1.41 percent, with 3,117 more employed, according to data published this Tuesday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations.
This department also discloses the data of the temporary employment regulation files still active, which as of March 31 were 45 in Cantabria.
Those 45 erte affect 196 Cantabrian workers, of which 134 are men and 62 women.
And of that total number of workers, 119 are affected by part of their total workday, while 77 have a partial file.
reactions
The Secretary of Employment of the UGT in Cantabria, Julio Ibáñez, lamented that the drop in unemployment in March “reaffirms” the seasonality of the labor market and its “dependence” on the service sector during Easter, such as the CCOO, which despite valuing the data looks with concern that the service sector continues to be the “sole engine” of employment when employment contracts rise.
USO Cantabria has attributed the drop in unemployment in the region in March to the “truce” offered by Holy Week in the service sector, which demonstrates the region’s “increasingly pronounced” dependence on tourism.
CEOE-Cepyme Cantabria has described the employment figures as “good data” because hiring improves “practically in all sectors”, although it believes that it is services that “set the growth rate” in a traditionally positive month due to the Easter week.
In addition, the Union of Autonomous Workers of Cantabria has highlighted that in March the region added a total of 96 new self-employed workers, of which 61 percent belong to the hospitality sector given the “proximity” of Easter.
For her part, the secretary of the PP in Cantabria and parliamentary spokesperson for the Economy, María José González Revuelta, considers that the “one-time increase” due to seasonal hiring cannot “hide” the fact that the region creates, in general, “less employment” than the rest of Spain.
