Creama, through the Marina Alta Observatory, analyses the employment data in the region every month. Regarding the last December of 2024, the entity assures that a decrease in unemployment has been recorded in this month, of 36 people. The Marina Alta has not registered so few unemployed in the last chapter of the year since 2007.
Decembers in recent years have usually been marked by moderate falls in employment and equally moderate increases in registered unemployment. The published figures maintain the characteristic seasonal pattern in terms of employment, but not, however, in terms of job seekers. Membership has decreased by less than 1%, but showing signs of a certain weakness compared to what was observed in previous years. On the contrary, a fall in job seekers has been recorded, unlike what was observed in the Decembers of the immediately preceding years. Finally, hiring has decreased significantly compared to the previous month, but is growing in year-on-year terms.
Social Security affiliation in December fell by 511 people, a decrease of 0,83%, above the average variation of Decembers in the last decade (-299). The labor market was consolidated in 2024 with more than 61 thousand Social Security contributors. The year just concluded has ended with almost 100 more workers than the previous year and confirms the good performance of recent months in terms of employment.
In total, 61.095 members were registered in December, 0,15% more than a year ago. The traditional push of the Christmas campaign closes a good performance of a year that, for the second consecutive time, exceeds the barrier of 61 thousand employed, despite the fact that its interannual rate falls two tenths compared to that of the previous year (it has gone from +3,03% to 0,15%). In fact, we have to go back to December 2020 to find a more negative interannual rate than that of this past 2024 (-2,74%).
The total number of unemployed has fallen over the last 12 months, reaching 8.352 people in the last chapter of the year, the lowest figure in this period in 17 years. Women occupy 57% of the unemployed compared to 43% of men, despite a 1,4% decrease in unemployment compared to November, compared to +0,9% for men. In addition, all those who are leaving the job seekers' lists are over 44 years old.
At the end of the year, total contracts were signed at 1.993 (-20,9% compared to November), of which 42,1% were temporary and 57,7% were permanent. The number of permanent contracts signed increased (1,2% year-on-year), and to a greater extent, temporary contracts (+9,5% year-on-year).
According to data from the CREAMA and PACTE'MA Marina Alta Observatory (a project subsidised by LABORA, the Valencian Employment and Training Service, and by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, within the AVALEM TERRITORI programme of the Generalitat Valenciana), the number of people affiliated to Social Security in December behaved negatively (-0,83%). However, December leaves the total number of affiliates at 61.095, a record figure for a December in the historical series.
If we compare the data on members at the regional and provincial levels, their performance is slightly more favourable, since in these territories membership has decreased by -0,90% and -1,25% compared to November. As regards the national figure, it has grown by +0,17%.
As for the number of job seekers, it decreased by 36 people in December compared to November, reaching 8.352 applicants. A figure that is positioned as the 6th best figure since 2008. This is equivalent to a monthly fall of -0,43%, a decrease in the number of applicants in December, which has not occurred since 2019, not counting December 2021, conditioned by the rebound after the collapse of activity caused by Covid-19. It should be noted that this fall is worse than that produced at the end of the year in the 2012-2019 series (-232 on average and -1,64%), but we are talking about the years where the highest records of unemployed people were marked (economic crisis of 2008). Therefore, in absolute terms, we are facing the best December since 2007 (6.642 applicants) and the 6th best historical record since August 2008. This fall compared to November is greater than the variation recorded in the Valencian Community and the province of Alicante, but less than the national figure (+0,14%, +0,02% and -0,98% respectively).
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