HE tourism He recorded a historic year 2023 in which he completed the recovery after the collapse of the pandemic; It recorded records in economic activity in the heat of domestic and international demand boom and price increases. The rapid growth of the sector also direct impact on employment. More and better jobs, according to the companies themselves.
At the end of last year, 95,224 more jobs were created in the sector compared to 2022; This accounts for 17% of the employment created in the entire economy. In July, in the middle of the summer high season, a new historical maximum was reached with more than 2.8 million Social Security dependents across different branches of tourism activity in a single month. But now major Spanish tourism groups are sticking their necks out and boasting not only strong job creation, but also The job created is of good quality, stability and salary increases It is widespread and above other sectors.
ExcelturThe lobby brings together nearly thirty of the largest companies in the sector (including, Meliá, NH, Iberia, Globalia, Riu or Amadeus) highlights in its latest quarterly report that temporary employment has fallen to historic lows and permanent contracts have become widespread, accounting for more than 90% of the total. “The improvement in the quality of employment is significant,” says José Luis Zoreda, vice president of the business association.
Thanks to new regulation implementing labor reform, temporary employment in the sector has collapsed with only 8% of temporary contracts last year; The rate fell from almost 35% in 2019 to 13.7% in the remaining economic sectors in the past. year. Permanent contracts have become widespread, reaching more than 91% of the total (of which only a quarter are permanent, discontinuous contracts).
“The stability in the recruitment of tourism personnel is explained mainly by the adherence to full-time indefinite contracts (60,000 more than in 2022), part-time contracts (32,000 more) and a much larger number of temporary permanent contracts (6,000 more). According to data from last December, Exceltur underlines that almost half of tourism employees with indefinite contracts work full-time, and “while 4 thousand temporary employment contracts will disappear in 2022,” he emphasizes.
Salary increase
Moreover, salaries increased again In an environment where it is difficult to have a sufficiently skilled workforce 4.4% increase compared to the previous yearIn 2023, there was an increase in deals of 3.9%, above the rest of the sectors in both cases (increases of 4% and 3.5% respectively).
According to the lobby, “The tourism sector has made a significant effort to improve wage conditions in the context of current inflation to preserve the purchasing power of its employees, while also attracting and retaining talent.” Efforts of companies to increase training investments to add new profiles and provide “extra facilities” to workers, such as providing accommodation to employees in island destinations due to rent increases.
“In Spain, temporary employment has decreased and wages have increased, which is a good sign. “The sector also needs to work for social sustainability,” he said. Minister of Industry and Tourism Jordi Hereu. “This is the most important impact created by tourism, which is a source of prosperity. As a country, we must distribute the value we produce fairly. Tourism also needs to work with qualified, educated and well-paid people.”
labor shortage
Amid a boom in industry and tourism employment, companies are facing problems attracting and retaining employees due to a shortage of workforce willing to enter the industry. “We have a serious personnel problem. “This is our main challenge,” he emphasizes. Raúl González, CEO of Barceló Hotel Group. “We have been slandered a lot over the years and now we have to explain the benefits of our industry. The salary of tourism employees is not low, it is above the Spanish average. It doesn’t make much money, but…”
According to the Bank of Spain’s latest Business Activities Survey for the last quarter of 2023, labor shortages are perceived by 42.5% of companies as a factor that negatively affects their operations. And the rate is clearly higher in the hospitality sector and the transportation sector, where 55% and 51% of companies are concerned respectively. A. A perception jointly confirmed by large employers in the sector, such as the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (Cehat), the Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV) and the Association of Airlines (ALA).
“We are going through a difficult period in terms of human resources. “We have great difficulty attracting and retaining talent,” he said. Amancio López, president of Grupo Hotusa. “It is unsustainable to have higher unemployment than in Europe and at the same time have difficulty hiring.” The hotel group’s founder put forward this scenario as a formula to alleviate the “encouragement of induced migration” scenario, specifically mentioning “descendants of Spaniards in Latin America” and prioritizing “young people who need to be provided with education and accommodation facilities.” in the country. .
HE Governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernandez de Cos, He told a tourist forum this week that labor availability problems highlight “the need to improve active employment policies” to promote employability. He therefore recommended constant monitoring of the capacity of migration policies to effectively alleviate labor market imbalances and the implementation of “policies that support the supply of rental housing” to promote interregional mobility of workers.
In parallel, Hernández de Cos emphasized that tourism is “one of the sectors with a concentration of workers in young and low-skilled groups”, which makes it “more sensitive to significant increases in the minimum wage”. In recent years.” The government and unions agreed to increase SMI by 5%, up to €1,134 per month, with fourteen payments. Since 2018, the minimum wage has increased by 54%, including the new increase, meaning employees earn €5,573 per year It means he gets more.