Alicante’s jobs market in 2023: a mixed but resilient year
Despite inflation and a slowing economy, Alicante’s key sectors—especially footwear and related manufacturing—created more than 21,000 new jobs last year and lowered unemployment by about 7,900 people. The total unemployed count stood at 132,611, a low not seen since 2007. Yet December still showed a dip in occupancy rates, mirroring trends seen across comparable provinces.
Looking ahead to 2023, Alicante’s labor market is expected to stay robust, buoyed by tourism and hospitality which remain the largest employers. Other service sectors—education and health—also contributed meaningfully. Although social security participation rose and unemployment fell compared with 2022, when pandemic restrictions spurred a sharp rebound, the year’s figures marked an improvement over 2019 levels as well.
Industry and construction reduce unemployment in Alicante in November
Registered unemployment rose slightly in December, reaching 132,611 in total. Despite a modest uptick last month, the year closed with a notable reduction of 7,884 unemployed people compared with the previous year. That fall was less steep than 2021’s decline of 15,912 but considerably higher than 2019’s drop of 2,643.
What stands out is the end-of-year perspective: unemployment in Alicante dropped to its lowest level since 2007, just before the housing market crisis, with a psychological barrier around 95,539 and a peak later that decade near 150,608. This stark contrast highlights the sweeping shifts in the local labor landscape over the past decade.
Membership
December brought a setback for Social Security membership, with 1,980 fewer affiliates. Yet the annual balance remains positive, with about 21,464 more Alicante residents employed than a year earlier, keeping the year on a broadly favorable trajectory for jobholders.
Remarkably, the province set its own employment records mid-year. In July, employment reached 742,468 workers, the highest figure in the Social Security history series. Seasonal patterns are typical for the region, and the late-year decline did not erase the peak reached earlier, underscoring the strength of Alicante’s labor market in a tourism-driven economy.
Tourism drives record employment for the fourth straight month
By sector, hospitality led job creation last year, adding 4,045 more workers in Alicante than in December 2022. Education also saw a solid rise, with 3,519 more residents employed than a year prior, while health and social services added 2,620 positions. The broader structure of employment grew as well, with 2,017 more workers than in December 2022, and administrative and auxiliary services reporting 1,795 Social Security members.
On the downside, manufacturing shed 276 jobs, and cleaning-related positions declined by 36. Still, the overall picture shows a resilient economy with diverse employment gains across essential sectors.
Is hiring
In terms of contract types, December favored temporary work, which accounted for nearly 55% of monthly contracts driven by demand in commercial and logistics sectors for the Christmas period. Over the full year, permanent contracts remained the majority, representing about 54% of total agreements, according to labor ministry data.
Additionally, up to 58% of Alicante’s unemployed individuals received some form of Sepe income in November. Official data show 34,926 workers benefited from subsidies, another 36,336 received board-adjusted support, and 5,797 had other Active Income measures in place.