Employment In The Real Estate Sector Rose By 6.4% In October

3 November 2017 – Eje Prime

The real estate sector is continuing its role as a driver of the growth of employment in Spain. According to data from the Social Security office, in October, real estate activity registered a total of 130,850 affiliated workers, 63 more than in September. That figure represents a YoY increase of 6.4%, with 7,921 more professionals now active in the sector.

Including October, real estate activity has now recorded four consecutive months above the threshold of 130,000 jobs. This hopeful figure for growth contrasts with the just over 118,000 workers that were registered in the segment less than two years ago, in January 2016. Last year, during one month, March, the figure actually fell below that threshold, to an annual minimum of 117,986.

Nevertheless, the sector has been recovering its strength, month after month, and the real estate business made its debut in 2017 with 124,053 affiliated workers registered for Social Security purposes. Since January, the MoM growth rate has stood at around 1%, with around 1,000 new jobs being created each month, until the summer, when the rate of increase stagnated.

The strong performance in terms of employment in the real estate sector goes hand in hand with the recovery of the job market in general right across the country. In October, the Social Security office registered 17 million affiliated workers, which represents an improvement of 3.9% on the total employment figures recorded in the same month in 2016. The growth rate of employment in the real estate sector (6.4%) clearly shows that it is moving at a faster pace than the economy in general.

If we add employment in real estate activity with employment in the construction sector (the construction of buildings, specialist construction work and civil engineering), then the sector recorded an average of 1.27 million affiliated workers in October, up by 6.7% compared to the same month last year.

Unemployment rose by 56,884 people in October

The number of registered unemployed people at the Public Employment Services’ offices rose by 56,884 in October compared to the previous month. Nevertheless, the increase was well below the average rise in the unemployment figure in October over the last eight years, which amounts to 90,000 people.

In YoY terms, unemployment in Spain fell by 7.9% in the tenth month of the year, bringing the total number of unemployed people to 3.46 million. By economic sector, registered unemployment decreased above all in the construction sector, whilst it increased in the agriculture, industry and services sectors.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake