Funcas | The number of people registered with Social Security rose by 72,000 in December, to 19,824,911. In seasonally adjusted terms, according to Funcas, this is equivalent to a rise of 62,000, a remarkable result in historical perspective, although it is the lowest increase since May.
The total number of workers in ERTE (linked and not linked to Covid) has moderated its rate of decline, while the self-employed with benefits have increased. Total employment in effective terms, i.e. excluding ERTE workers and the self-employed with benefits, has been above the pre-crisis level since October. In terms of private employment, although the number of registered workers exceeds the pre-pandemic level, it is not yet higher in actual terms (more than 100,000 are missing). In the fourth quarter of 2021, actual employment grew by 2.9% over the previous quarter, compared with 4% in the third quarter.
The growth in the average number of affiliates in 2021 was 476,000 over the 2020 average, equivalent to 2.5%. In effective terms, i.e. including the incorporation of ERTE, the average annual increase in employment was 1,500,000, or 8.7%.
Registered unemployment fell below the level before the financial crisis. The number of registered unemployed fell sharply in December to 3,105,905, the lowest level in a December since 2007. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the fall was 40,000, a slowdown from the declines seen throughout the second half of the year.
