Good news from Spain about women in the workforce: December delivered a new record for women enrolled in Social Security, reaching 9.556 million. That total now accounts for 47% of the connected workforce. In the final month of 2022, women’s unemployment fell by more than two percentage points, reaching levels not seen in 14 years.
Overall, December signaled a robust Spanish labor market, according to statistics released this Tuesday by the Ministries of Labor and Social Security. Unemployment hit its lowest level in 15 years, and total memberships reached a peak. These positive figures extended to female employment as well. Yet even as gaps narrowed, the impact of inequality on the labor market remains a critical concern that deserves attention.
affiliate registration
In December, 9,559,179 women were covered by Social Security, the highest total on record. They now represent 47% of the workforce, a share never before seen.
During the same period, 10,737,092 men were employed. In total, combining men and women, the month added 12,640 members compared with November and 471,360 more than a year earlier.
Public Employment Service (SEPE) data for December shows the unemployment rate at its lowest since 2007, with 2,837,653 people unemployed. Isolating female unemployment reveals a drop of 2.17% from November, equating to 37,411 fewer unemployed women.
The number of unemployed women stands at 1,690,148, the lowest level in 14 years. However, this decline does not completely close the gender gap: women still represent a larger share of unemployment, accounting for 59.56% of jobless individuals, compared with 40.44% for men.
Compared with December 2021, male unemployment fell more sharply (10.48%) than female unemployment (7.34%).
In comparing December 2022 with November 2022, the decline was more pronounced for women (37,411 fewer unemployed women versus 6,316 fewer men, representing a 2.17% drop for women and 0.55% for men).
Similar patterns appear in the foreign population: more unemployed women (220,169) than men (139,300), and the annual change favors women (a 14.08% drop for female unemployment versus 6.02% for men). In the November-to-December period, the decline was also more favorable for women (1.87% fewer layoffs and 0.32% fewer unemployed).
Among younger workers under 25, the situation shifts: there are fewer unemployed women (95,049) than young men (100,702), and the reductions in female unemployment are greater (a 6.56% drop for women versus 5.19% for men). Both groups show notable declines when comparing December to November (12.44% for women and 11.7% for men).
As age rises, trends shift. The maternity burden seems to influence women’s career choices, with higher inactivity among women over 25. Here, 1,595,099 women are unemployed, compared with 1,046,803 unemployed men.
Inequality in contracts
Gender inequality extends beyond the number of people employed to differences in contract type. In December, total contracts were 1,189,917 for men, 561,701 for women, and 628,216 representing the overall total. The Labor Department notes that 107,292 of these were part-time and 177,877 were of non-durable duration, though gender was not separated in this breakdown.
Historically, last December saw more men hired on permanent contracts (269,433 men versus 194,719 women). Permanent contracts were also more often converted into longer-term arrangements for men (28,056) than for women (23,197).
The pattern clearly shows a gap in temporary contracts, a stark indicator of inequality for women. Of the 725,765 temporary contracts in December, 366,982 belonged to women and 358,783 to men. Annual changes show a much larger contraction for men (56.81%) than for women (45.80%), when comparing December with November (11.29% and 9.3% respectively year over year).
Companies continue to use women more frequently for replacement positions, with 57,012 women compared to 28,493 men filling such roles.
The road to equal opportunity in the labor market remains long, but steady progress is evident across several indicators.