With an aging population and rising demand for government services, the public sector remains the main income source for a growing portion of Alicante families. The commitment to the welfare state helped cushion the economy during the pandemic, and today 552,000 residents in Alicante rely on some form of state transfer, whether as pensioners, civil servants, or unemployed individuals receiving benefits. This number accounts for 34.3% of all working adults and 45.7% of all earners when excluding students and those who do not work for pay at home.
According to National Social Security Institute statistics, as of May 1 Alicante counted 328,465 premium pension recipients. The employed population has risen by about 60,000 since 2008, aligning closely with current totals around 796,000 in the first quarter of the year, compared with 780,000 in early 2008. Including roughly 17,000 people on non-contributory pensions, the province totals over 345,000 individuals supported by pension systems.
Alongside pandemic-related supplements, public employment in the province hit a record high with about 136,500 workers, based on the latest Active Population Survey. This marks a substantial rise from 80,000 in 2008, with the majority of growth occurring in recent years after the outbreak of the coronavirus. The share of public employment as a portion of total employment stands at 17.2%.
Data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy show that in April, 69,803 residents of Alicante received unemployment benefits or subsidies out of a total of 137,400 people eligible for support.
Thus, the total number of people in the province whose income depends on the state is 552,095. The private sector employs 655,600 people, according to the EPA. In other words, 45.7% of the province’s income earners receive a state salary.
below average
Even though the figure may seem high, it sits two percentage points below the national average. About 15 million people rely on public revenue while roughly 16.6 million work in the private sector. The tendency is even more pronounced when compared with other aging regions such as Asturias, where state salaries outpace private-sector employment.
Focusing on Social Security data and pension sustainability, the province shows a slightly better-than-average situation, with 2.12 pension-affiliates per worker in 2018, compared with the national figure and Asturias, which sits around 1.3.
The high weight of the shadow economy
Regardless of the public sector’s size, Alicante’s labor market continues to carry a heavy shadow economy. The EPA and Social Security data both reveal a clear rise in local employment over the past year, with registered members near 696,000 and actual employment around 792,100, a gap of about 96,000. The discrepancy underscores ongoing irregular work patterns that unions have long highlighted as a priority for stronger labor inspection in the region.
The situation remains a concern for unions, who call for greater enforcement to curb fraud linked to entrenched regional industries.