The province of Tenerife reached a new employment high last June, recording 448,474 Social Security affiliates and an increase of 489 employed individuals. In contrast, the province of Las Palmas lost jobs for the second consecutive month, this time by 430.
With these figures, the total for the autonomous community maintained its number of affiliates in June, showing a slight increase of 60 people thanks to the positive trend in the western province, which continues to lead Spain in year-on-year job creation.
In total, the Canary Islands recorded 938,227 affiliates in June, representing a 3% increase (27,680 more affiliates) compared to the same month last year. This places the Islands nearly a point above the national average of 2.2%, making it the community with the best results at the end of the sixth month of the year.
In this year-on-year indicator, it is also the province of Tenerife that drives employment, with 15,254 more affiliates and a growth of 3.5%, compared to 12,427 in the eastern province, where employment increased by 2.6%.
The registered unemployment data released yesterday by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy confirms the positive evolution of employment in the Canary Islands, with a decrease of 1,467 people compared to May (-0.96%), leaving the number of job seekers in the Islands at 150,704. The largest drop this month occurred in the province of Tenerife, which saw 1,231 fewer unemployed individuals, compared to Las Palmas, where unemployment fell by 231 people.
In comparison with June of last year, the number of unemployed fell by 13,756 individuals, an 8.3% decrease, which is two points higher than the national average. The provincial data are similar, with a 7.95% decrease in Las Palmas and an 8.9% decrease in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
When looking at data by islands, La Palma, with a 13% decrease, La Gomera, and El Hierro, both with a 26%, recorded the best year-on-year results in the evolution of unemployment. Despite registering the most significant absolute declines due to their population size, Tenerife and Gran Canaria are left with decreases of 8%.
On the other hand, although the figures remain positive, the data confirms a slowdown in June, as announced by business associations, both in job creation and in the reduction of unemployment. The drop of 1,467 unemployed is the smallest recorded in a June in recent years. “We’ve reached the figure of 150,000 unemployed and we are still decreasing, although the truth is that it’s happening less and less,” stated the president of CEOE Tenerife, Pedro Alfonso, yesterday.
The regional government is focusing on the excellent results, partly due to the “considerable reduction in the number of long-term unemployed, which reached its lowest value in June in sixteen years, specifically since February 2009.” Additionally, the Government highlights the positive trend in the registered unemployment data among those under 25 years old, asserting that it is at the lowest point in the entire historical series. At the end of June, registered unemployment in this group was 7,600 individuals. Compared to May, youth unemployment decreased by 388 people (-4.86%), while over the year it fell by 735 (-8.82%).
Regarding hiring, it increased by 12.3% compared to May, with 6,721 more contracts, bringing the total to 61,224. Compared to June 2024, hiring grew by 12.19%, amounting to 6,652 more contracts. “Despite the decrease in unemployment, a significant proportion of the new contracts signed are temporary (as required by the summer market) or fixed discontinuous,” clarified Alfonso.
Monthly unemployment decreased in all sectors except agriculture, with commerce, hospitality, and construction leading the decline. Compared to June of last year, unemployment was reduced in all economic sectors.
The director of the Canary Island Employment Service (SCE), María Teresa Ortega, emphasised the importance of continuing to work to drive this growth further and “align the labour supply and demand.”
