SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE/MADRID Jan. 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Social Security concluded last year in the Canary Islands with a rise of 7.4% in foreign affiliates, totalling 132,497 (+9,159), which also signified an increase of 0.35% in December compared to November. This was reported by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration this Friday.
By regime, 99,616 belong to the general regime, with 2,741 in the agricultural system and 2,477 under the Household regime, while 32,300 are registered as self-employed and 580 in the category of marine workers.
At the national level, Social Security recorded an average increase of 212,042 foreign affiliates in 2024, which is 7.9% higher than in 2023, bringing the total to 2,880,818 immigrant workers registered within the system, setting a new record for year-end figures.
This impressive figure of 2.88 million employed individuals was achieved after Social Security observed an increase of 3,846 foreign affiliates in December, relative to the previous month (+0.1%).
Of the overall number of foreigners affiliated at the end of last year, 894,672 originated from EU countries (31%), while 1,986,146 were from non-EU states (69%). The largest groups of foreign workers included individuals from Morocco (342,318), Romania (336,599), Colombia (220,892), Italy (193,162), and Venezuela (170,925).
Furthermore, the system includes 72,376 members from Ukraine, which is 25,117 more than in January 2022, prior to the onset of the war initiated by Russia. The majority of Ukrainian workers, approximately 83.2%, are under the General Regime, meaning they are salaried employees, while 16.8% are self-employed.
Adjusted for seasonality, the affiliation of foreigners to Social Security rose by 16,536 employed individuals in December 2024 compared to the previous month, resulting in a total of 2,927,598 employed individuals, another historical high.
This statistic indicates that since December 2019, before the pandemic’s impact, the system has incorporated 765,199 foreign affiliates, making up 13.7% of the total contributors, an increase of six tenths compared to the previous year.
Among the total membership of foreign affiliates, 1.6 million are men, and almost 1.3 million are women. Female membership has surged by 35.2% since just before the pandemic, now comprising over 43% of the total foreign workforce.
ALL COMMUNITIES SAW INCREASES IN FOREIGN AFFILIATES IN 2024
According to data from the Ministry, all autonomous communities reported an increase in foreign workers in 2024 compared to the previous year.
The most significant annual growth in the average number of foreign affiliates, in absolute terms, was observed in Madrid (+39,760 contributors), Catalonia (+36,644 workers), Andalusia (+35,222), and the Valencian Community (+30,059).
In relative terms, the most considerable increases in the average foreign membership in 2024 occurred in Asturias (+17.4%), Galicia (+14.6%), Cantabria (+14.3%), and Castilla y León (+14.2%), with smaller increases recorded in Navarra (+4.9%) and Murcia (+5.6%).
DECLINE IN FOREIGN AFFILIATES IN HOUSEHOLD EMPLOYEES REGIME BY 9%
By regime, the majority of foreigners are registered under the General Regime, which ended 2024 with an average of 2,408,646 foreign affiliates, accounting for 83.6% of the total, representing a 7.9% rise compared to 2023.
The Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) concluded the year with 467,616 foreign contributors, showing an increase of 8.3% from 2023.
Within the General Regime, the sectors with the highest relative increases in foreign contributors in 2024 included transportation and storage (+16%), administrative activities (+11%), water supply and sanitation (+10.76%), health activities (+10.31%), agriculture (+10.14%), and both construction and hospitality, each with an annual increase nearing 10%.
The Special Agrarian System (part of the General Regime) saw a 5.2% rise in foreign affiliates during 2024, while the Household System experienced a decline of 9% in foreign workers compared to 2023.
The Ministry has emphasised that the yearly increase in foreign affiliates was also “remarkable” in high-value-added sectors, such as financial services (+9.5%), information and communications, which surged by more than 7%, and professional, scientific, and technical activities (+6.6%).
Foreign workers represent over 20% of the total membership in activities involving extraterritorial organisations and bodies (28%); hospitality (27.8%); agriculture, livestock, and fishing (24.6%); and construction (21.5%).
Within the Special System for Domestic Employees, approximately 44% are foreign workers, while nearly 35% of those in the Special Agrarian System are also foreign.
