Unemployment in Xàbia continued to drop during May

Monday 28th June 2021 – ÁLVARO MONFORT with Mike Smith

Unemployment in Xàbia fell again in May with 1,799 registered unemployed, 136 less than April, an improvement driven factors such as the arrival of good weather (so it is expected that, over the next few months, the unemployment figure will continue to fall) as well as the relaxation of certain restrictions that occurred in the previous month when the state of alarm, the perimeter closure of the Valencian region was lifted and the night curfew was shortened. With the vaccination campaign gathering speed and the relative stability of the health situation, the economic recovery is starting to gain momentum.

However, the evolution is not entirely positive. After the end of the confinement on May 4th 2020 and the start of the original de-escalation phase, the situation regarding unemployment in Xàbia has not improved much. Back then, 1,887 people were registered as unemployed; some 1.935 were without a job in April 2020 whilst the number was higher than 2,000 during the first months of last year. The confinement hurt the local economy whilst the subsequent instability as a result of the continuous increase in COVID-19 cases and the measures implemented by the authorities to stop it have dealt a final blow to the long and delicate situation for all those residents who have been most affected. For a robust and sustainable recovery, studies advocate caution, calm and diversification.

The pre-pandemic figure for May 2019 (when the municipality registered 1,267 people as being unemployed) seems today like a utopia, but not impossible to achieve once again. Of course, to guarantee a solid and future-orientated economy, Xàbia must learn from this pandemic and advocate to promote the productive sectors other than those of Services, dignify the type of contracts that are signed in this (in the best of cases) and study other ways to generate wealth.

May Unemployment by age and gender

In May, 1,014 women and 785 men were registered as unemployed. The positive data is that the figures fell in all age groups. The group of people over 45 years of age is always the most affected by unemployment and in May 543 women and 313 men were without a job.

For those aged between 25 and 44 years, 413 women and 313 men were unemployed whilst 58 women and 66 men were without a job in the group aged 25 years and under.

Regarding hiring, 852 new contract were signed in May (190 more than in April) of which 766 were temporary (highlighting the precariousness of employment in the municipality during the summer months), 52 were permanent, and 34 went from temporary to permanent status.

Unemployment in May by economic sectors

Xàbia continues to register the highest amount of unemployment in the Services sector. During May, 730 people were unemployed (797 less than in April. Quite a record). Construction also experienced a sharp decline, accounting for 88 unemployed (119 less). Similarly, Industry registered 29 unemployed people (24 less), as did Fisheries and Agriculture, which also experienced a notable decrease to 5 unemployed people, 15 less than in April.

With 1,799 people, Xàbia remains third among the municipalities with the highest unemployment in La Marina Alta behind Dénia (3,972) and Calp (1,848). These towns have also experienced a decline in the last month.