The tourism sector continues to drive job creation across the economy. New mid-year data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and a report released this Monday by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism show that activities tied to travel and hospitality added roughly 391 thousand more jobs between April and June than in the same period last year. In other words, nearly half of the 776,000 people who entered the labor market during the second quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2022 sought work within the tourism industry.
Overall, the sector now employs more than 2.7 million people, a modest 0.8% rise from the same period in 2019, i.e., before the pandemic began. This means about 13% of all salaried workers are employed in tourism-related roles. The pattern signals a resilient labor market as tourism recovers, contributing to broader economic activity and employment across the country (INE, 2024) [INE].
According to the minister in charge, the expansion reflects robust performance despite ongoing global uncertainties and geopolitical tensions. The minister emphasized that the data points to solid quarterly growth, with strong hiring across both permanent and temporary roles. Employment gains span services such as food and drink, accommodation, travel agencies, and passenger transport, underscoring broad-based recovery and job quality improvements. Permanent contracts have risen by about 20% year over year, while temporary contracts are up roughly 18% (Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism) [Ministry statement].
Unemployment within the sector has also shown favorable movement. The current unemployment rate in tourism sits about three percentage points below pre-pandemic levels, dipping from 11% to around 8%, and roughly five points lower than the previous year. When viewed against the national unemployment rate, which stood near 12.5% in the latest figures, tourism demonstrates notable strength and resilience (INE, 2024) [INE].
The six autonomous communities with the largest tourist volumes—Catalonia, Andalusia, Madrid, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community—remain the primary engines of sector employment, collectively accounting for about 74.5% of total tourism jobs. These regions consistently show higher tourist activity and more robust labor market outcomes within travel and hospitality (Turespaña) [Turespaña].
Meanwhile, recent agency analyses based on airport and airline records reveal continued growth in inbound international travel. In June, Spain welcomed more than 8.2 million international passengers, a level still below pre-pandemic records but representing about 85.5% of the traffic seen in June 2019. The June figures mark a significant rebound from the prior year, with inbound demand roughly tripling. International visitors also spent substantially more than the previous year, estimated at around 9.0 billion euros versus roughly 9.7 billion euros in the same month of 2019, indicating a recovery in tourism revenue alongside rising visitor numbers (INE, 2024) [INE].