The province of Valencia has managed to continue creating jobs in the first month after the DANA will destroy dozens of municipalities in the region. The first labor balance, a month after the catastrophe, shows a figure of 11,217 new jobs registered by Social Security. A figure that reflects that membership has continued to advance, although it has done so at the lowest rate for this province in the last ten years.
This is reflected in the Social Security affiliation statistics. published on tuesday by the ministry led by Elma Saiz. The figures are still preliminary and do not offer specific details of the municipalities affected, a factor that limits the analysis. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that the impact of DANA on employment figures may still take some time to be reflected in the data.
Still, there are signs in the November figures that suggest the impact of DANA. The first of them is that The slowdown in employment that has been seen throughout Spain has been more pronounced in the case of Valencia than in other large provinces. In Valencia, 11,217 jobs have been created, which is about 6,000 fewer than those seen in the same month last year.
Those just over 11,000 new jobs are the lowest figure for a month of November in Valencia at least since 2012when the great recession hit with full force. In general, November has been a month of slowdown in the labor market for the entire country, but not as pronounced as in Valencia. At the national level, where it is not strange that jobs are destroyed in November, Social Security has lost 30,000 membersthe worst record in the last five years.
Among the most populated provinces in the country, Valencia is the region where employment figures have worsened the most in November, also in relative terms. Last month, membership increased 35% less than in November 2023. In other regions where employment has also slowed, the slowdowns have been somewhat milder. In Madrid, membership grew 12% less than in 2023, while in Barcelona it grew 21% less and in Seville 32% less.
Within the Valencian productive structure, the sectors with the worst results in November were the tradewhere membership increased by almost 2,000 fewer people than last year, and the special agricultural systemwith 1,643 fewer jobs created than in November 2023. In addition, the hospitality lost almost 1,400 more jobs than in the same month last year.
Waiting for the ERTE
The first known employment figures They do not point to massive job destruction. However, it is highly likely that the impact of DANA has not been fully felt in employment figures. At this point, it will be key to see how the situation evolves for the almost 30,000 members in companies that have already requested to benefit from ERTE due to force majeure. Although this figure could continue to increase in the coming weeks.
Companies still have one month to notify the number of workers they have transferred to these employment protection schemes, which include total or partial suspensions of activity to prevent job loss. The key will be to see to what extent companies are able to maintain those jobs or if these ERTE end up translating into job destruction. The affiliation data for December will allow a more precise diagnosis of the situation.