Prime Minister Office of Spain : Number of National Insurance contributors rises by 540,655 people, the highest figure in a month of December in the last decade

​The month of December is influenced by the Christmas shopping campaign and the natural slowdown in such activities as industry and construction. In monthly terms, the number of contributors increased by 68,531 (up 0.39%), affecting 11 autonomous regions plus Ceuta, with Andalusia, which is in the midst of the olive-picking campaign, being particularly noteworthy.

In seasonally-adjusted terms, the number of contributors also rose again, by 41,438 people, and has now posted 36 straight months of positive figures.

Monthly change

The number of National Insurance contributors has risen by 68,531, a 0.39% increase.

The General Regime posted a rise of 72,112 contributors (up 0.5%), to stand at 14,591,908. Noteworthy rises in the number of contributors were seen in December in Trade, Motor Vehicle and Motorbike Repairs, up 34,821, or 1.51%. This was followed by Healthcare Activities and Social Services, up 19,111, or 1.37%; Artistic, Recreational and Entertainment Activities, up 4,101, or 1.79%; Transport and Storage, up 3,915, or 0.61%, and Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security, up 3.044, or 0.3%.

In contrast, declines were posted in Construction, down 17,657, the Hotel and Catering Industry, down 13,850 and Manufacturing Industry, down 8,566.

The Special System for Agricultural Workers enjoyed significant growth of 49,300 contributors (up 6.45%), mainly due to the olive-picking campaign in Jaen and Cordoba. The sector currently has an average total of 813,972 contributors.

In turn, the Special System for Domestic Workers remained stable (down 0.03%) to stand at a total of 427,845 workers.

3,194,210 contributors were registered under the Regime for Self-Employed Workers, following a rise of 316 people in December. A decline of 3,862 contributors was posted in the Special Regime for Seamen (down 6.03%), to a total of 60,220 workers, which coincided with the ending of several fishing seasons in the Mediterranean. Finally, the Regime for Coal Workers posted a decline of 36 contributors (down 1.3%).

Affiliation to the Social Security system in December rose in 11 autonomous regions, plus Ceuta, headed up, in absolute terms, by Andalusia (up 52,139, or 1.82%), and followed by the Region of Madrid (up 16,015, or 0.54%) the Region of Valencia (up 5,550, or 0.32%), the Canary Islands (up 5,210, or 0.69%), Catalonia (up 4,689, or 0.15%), the Basque Country (up 3,039, or 0.33%), Aragon (up 2,319, or 0.44%), the Region of Murcia (up 1,960, or 0.37%), Castile La Mancha (up 1,895, or 0.29%, La Rioja (up 264, or 0.22%), Asturias (up 158, or 0.04%) and Ceuta (up 76, or 0.36%).

In contrast, the number of contributors fell in the Balearic Islands (down 14,496), Galicia (down 4,809), Castile and Leon (down 2,374), Cantabria (down 1,501), Navarre (down 1,359), Melilla (down 218) and Extremadura (down 25).

Comparison with 2015

In year-on-year terms, December closed with an average of 540,655 more contributors (up 3.12%), the largest annual increase in a month of December in the last decade.

Specifically, the General Regime rose by 512,733 contributors, up 3.64%.

There was an increase of 0.83% under the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers, which translates into an increase of 26,211 workers. The Regime for Seamen rose by 4.55% (up 2,621), while the Regime for Coal Workers posted a decrease of 910 contributors (down 25.09%).

Compared with last year, the number of workers has increased in all autonomous regions (including the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla). Particularly noteworthy are Catalonia, with an increase of 119,185 workers (3.88%), the Region of Madrid, with an increase of 94,753 workers (up 3.3%), Andalusia, with an increase of 77,687 (up 2.74), and the Region of Valencia, with an increase of 61,191 (up 3.59%).