SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Feb. 22 (EUROPE PRESS) –
Tenerife closed the year 2021 with a significant improvement in both employment and activity in all productive sectors. At the end of the last quarter, the number of employed persons was almost the same as in the same period of 2019, achieving the second highest number of employed persons in the last eleven years.
This is stated in the Insular Bulletin of the Economic Situation corresponding to the fourth quarter of 2021, which was presented today, Tuesday, by the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín, and the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santiago Sesé, and that it confirms the consolidation of the economic recovery that began after the pandemic.
The insular councilor for Employment, Socioeconomic Development and Foreign Action, Carmen Luz Baso, and the general director of the chamber entity, Lola Pérez, also participated in the presentation press conference.
Pedro Martín highlighted the good evolution of consumption and of the main economic indicators of the Island, highlighting in a special way the recovery of employment, with 18,500 more employed, adding up to 397,580 workers on the Island.
Likewise, he emphasized the 4.4% increase in the number of companies registered with Social Security, with 1,134 more businesses than a year ago, up to 27,073 companies, 759 less than before the crisis.
“We have closed the year 2021 with a situation, from the point of view of employment, remarkably good. In the last quarter we have had one of the best employment data of the last eleven years: the number of unemployed people has decreased and the number of unemployed people has increased registration in social security, which is a good indicator of where we can go in the coming months,” said Pedro Martín
In this context, the president highlighted the support that the Cabildo de Tenerife provides to the self-employed and to the small and medium-sized companies most affected by the restrictions imposed by COVID-19. “To date we have supported more than 6,342 companies and freelancers who have been granted aid for a total amount of 7.3 million euros and we are processing the request for aid worth nearly another 7 million,” he added. he.
A YEAR OF GROWTH.
For Santiago Sesé, “2021 has been a year of growth, and it is important to take advantage of this moment of economic momentum to bet on exciting and innovative projects that result in an improvement in the island’s competitiveness”.
Likewise, Sesé has also highlighted “the great potential of the Island in the creation of sustainable businesses based on the blue and green economy, taking advantage of existing resources in an efficient and responsible manner. Finally, the chamber president ended his speech highlighting the importance of public-private collaboration “as a fundamental key to the development of our economy”.
The Island Councilor for Employment, Socioeconomic Development and Foreign Action, Carmen Luz Baso, recalled that the preparation of this Bulletin “is part of the close collaboration between both institutions and that it also includes the development of more than twenty activities aimed to improve and promote the productivity and competitiveness of the business fabric” and pointed out that this year “we have increased with respect to the previous year by almost 200,000 euros, which places us at almost 600,000 euros in the investment of the Cabildo with the Chamber”.
Among the projects that will be developed this year 2022, Tenerife Licita and the internationalization programs stand out, together with the meeting of bidding companies from Spain, the basic export assistance program, entrepreneur training, and the +45 employment program or the Dual FP.
For her part, the general director of the Chamber, Lola Pérez, broke down the content of the bulletin, highlighting the growth of both the economy and the labor market that the island experienced during the past year: “Tenerife has had a recovery with a trend of progressive rise during the past year. Despite the arrival of the Ómicron variant in December, the island’s economy was able to improve practically all the indicators of supply and demand in all sectors of the economy”.
BALANCE SHEET
Despite the impact of the Ómicron variant in the month of December, 2021 ends with an improvement in practically all the indicators of supply and demand and in all sectors of the economy. This important boost has not yet made it possible to cushion the entire impact of the pandemic on the economy and employment, obtaining results, for the most part, below the figures achieved in 2019.
As a result of the above, the unemployment rate decreased by 4.45% in 2021, standing at 20.14% of the island’s active population, while the number of Social Security affiliations stood at 359,463, which represents 23,699 more than a year ago, with an increase of 7.6% in the general regime and 4.4% of the self-employed.
This increase affected all sectors, especially hospitality (14.7%), transport (6.5%) and commerce (4.4%). Although the sectors that have recovered, and even surpassed, the affiliations prior to the pandemic (2019) are agriculture, construction and the ‘other services’ group.
In the case of Commerce, the year ended with 6,656 commercial companies registered with Social Security, 87 more than at the end of 2020, an increase of 3.3% in employment, to 67,606. A recovery in consumption is observed fueled both by the spending of residents, favored by the improvement in employment and tourism spending.
In Agriculture, December ends with 1,596 more workers, up to 9,997 affiliates, and 657 fewer unemployed than at the end of 2020. Likewise, the number of registered companies grew by 28 to 1,012. In the absence of data for the month of December, banana exports increased by 3.3% compared to the previous year, in sharp contrast to the 3.2% decrease recorded by the average for the Autonomous Community.
In the case of Industry, the number of companies remains stable, with a slight rise of 0.2%, to 1,305, and employment stood at 16,298 55 more than in December 2020. Gross energy production increased by 4.1% if compared to the same period last year, while the available electrical energy, that is, the internal demand, increased by 8.1%.
Despite the decline in the fourth quarter, all the indicators for the Construction sector closed the year with better results than before the health crisis. The number of companies increased by 152 (6.7%) to 2,437 businesses in the month of December, an amount that exceeds what existed before the health crisis. At the same time, the sector ended the year with a total of 22,517 jobs, 1,180 more than in 2020 (5.5%).
In Services, the sector ends the year with 22,319 companies, which is 952 more businesses than a year ago and 863 fewer than before the pandemic (December 2019). The year 2021 ends with 321,220 registered jobs in the services sector on the island, 18,122 more than in 2020. The very positive behavior of the labor market in the hospitality industry stands out, motivated by an increase in the number of tourists (2,762,750 tourists, 43% more than in 2020) as well as overnight stays in both hotels and apartments.
