CREAMA detects economic recovery in La Marina Alta

Wednesday 15th December 2021 – ÁLVARO MONFORT with Mike Smith

The CREAMA Observatory has confirmed that the employment figures for La Marina Alta recorded last month give rise “to believe in the recovery of the labour market” in the region after the setback that the COVID-19 pandemic has been causing.

According to CREAMA: “the last quarter of the year has always represented the worst period in terms of labour market figures, with job destruction and low activity” but it seems that during this last November “this trend has completely changed and not only has the number of those claiming unemployment benefit fallen, but hiring has also increased significantly”.

November in Figures

Regarding the number of unemployed in the Marina Alta during November 2021, CREAMA said that “it has not been a typical month as unemployment has decreased by 528 people compared to October”. They admit that the figures are above those seen for the same month before the pandemic, but that the data must been seen in a positive light as the trend is “upward for the first time in many years.” This may be because the “absorption” of the jobs lost during the lockdown is still taking place.

Unemployment has continued to affect women more than men (6,796 vs 5,146). By productive sectors, all have seen their number of unemployed decrease during this last month. Services fell by 248 fewer unemployed people, Construction (149 less), Industry (32 less) and Agriculture and Fisheries (9 less).

Comparing these data with those of last year, 1,868 people registered as unemployed during November, with Services and Construction being the sectors with the greatest recovery. However, within each sector, there are details that should be highlighted. The Hospitality Industry has suffered a rebound in unemployment compared to October with 67 more unemployed. Meanwhile, Commerce has reduced its figures by 113 fewer unemployed people.

According to CREAMA, by calculating the unemployment rate, it is observed that La Marina Alta corrects the increase experienced in the previous month and is reduced by 0.33 points compared to October, reaching an estimated unemployment rate of 17.52% .

Social Security Registrations

Despite the positive trend, CREAMA points out that in November registration in Social Security was reduced by 1,159 people compared to October, an “expected” drop linked to the decline in tourist activity during these months of the year.

If these data are compared with those of a year ago, it is observed how the ravages of the pandemic are being corrected. Thus, compared to November 2020, there are 3,553 more affiliates. And if it is contrasted with those of 2019 (before the pandemic), there are 1,953 more affiliates. According to CREAMA, this may be due to the fact that “the strategies that are being carried out by the administration and the awareness of local consumption is beginning to bear fruit”.

Contracts

During this last month, 4,258 contracts have been signed, 322 more than in October, of which 80% are temporary and 20% permanent. Permanent contracts have increased by 37% compared to the previous month (851 contracts in November compared to 621 in October). In the same way, permanent contracts have increased by 113.8% compared to November 2020 and, more importantly, by 96.5% compared to November 2019, the pre-crisis year.

Hiring by gender during tNovember has been practically equal, 2,156 contracts for men compared to 2,102 for women. However, the evolution of female hiring has been more positive than that of men. The hiring of women has increased by 12% while that of men only 4.7%.