Saying farewell to Alicante, one of the strongest years in its history for employment. Despite the ongoing impact of the Ukraine conflict, rising inflation, and rate increases that raise financing costs and threaten economic activity, the year closes with encouraging labor market signals. The region records the lowest unemployment figures since 2007 and a record peak in Social Security affiliation. Even as December data was not especially rosy, the overall year delivers notable gains.
Data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy show that unemployment registered with public employment offices fell by 161,000 people in the last month of December. While this drop is less dramatic than usual—pre-pandemic declines in December often reached 1,500 to 2,000 people—the end-of-year unemployment total stands at 140,495, marking a 15,912 decrease from 2021. This stands as one of the country’s largest annual declines, exceeded only by Madrid, the Balearic Islands, and Valencia in terms of raw reductions.
First, this signals the lowest unemployment level for December since 2007, even as total enrollment remains below 100,000 — a threshold not seen since the housing bubble burst in 2008 when the figure stood at 150,608.
Contributors
On the Social Security side, December finishes with a negative note, dipping by 3,634 affiliates due to declines in the manufacturing, construction, and hospitality sectors in the latter half of the year. Still, this marks a decrease for a second consecutive month in some measures.
Decline in contributors hides a broader unemployment pattern in Alicante
Looking at the annual picture, the region shows a clearly positive trend. Last year brought 25,211 new jobs, lifting the total number of contributors to 708,552 — the best year-end total on record, even if it fell short of the peak reached during the summer when around 720,000 people were registered nationally.
Despite the month-over-month slip, Alicante now has about 5,000 more contributors than a year ago, reaching 78,864 in construction, 138,995 in commerce, 55,799 in building trades, 43,095 in administrative activities, and 61,797 in health services.
Compared with the rest of the country, Alicante continues to perform well, ranking among the top five regions for employment in the past year. Nationally, Madrid added 132,992 new jobs, Barcelona 79,811, Malaga 26,759, and Valencia 26,070, according to Social Security data.
Seven-year high: long-term unemployment in scope
Regarding earnings, the largest jump in Alicante came from salaried workers, who rose from 567,567 in December 2021 to 567,567 in December 2022. The number of self-employed increased modestly, while maritime workers also showed a small rise.
In terms of recruitment, the data reflect the impact of labor reform, which helped reverse the earlier trend. The year closed with 571,518 contracts registered, of which 272,268 were permanent. Permanent contracts accounted for 47.64% of all jobs in Alicante for 2022, markedly higher than typical national norms. Many of these are permanent but may involve interruptions or part-time arrangements.
In social protection terms, 75,364 Alicante residents received some form of SEPE assistance in November. Of these, 32,674 received contributions, 36,390 received unemployment benefits, and 6,300 benefited from Active Income support.
Regional business leaders, while cautiously optimistic, note some slowdown in recent months and caution that global growth slowdowns, energy costs, and inflation could threaten employment momentum. They emphasize the need for continued government support for sectors particularly affected by high energy prices and elevated costs.
Unions remain hopeful about the reform’s impact on sustained hiring, with CC OO highlighting that temporary recruitment patterns in December favor longer-term stability. They view 2022 as a success driven by policies that counter traditional expectations. Nevertheless, they call for ongoing attention to long-term unemployment and wage growth to preserve workers’ purchasing power, which could otherwise cool economic activity.
The regional Employment Minister, Enric Nomdedeu, described last year’s data as obviously positive for Valencia as a whole, noting a continued trend toward stabilization and improvement. He pointed out that 33,241 people exited unemployment lists in the Community of Valencia in the year, and the regional labor market ended with 338,243 unemployed and 2,073,028 participants in collective programs, following a rise in membership of 52,973.