Bar waitress

Hiring growth an indicator of economic recovery.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma16/09/2021 10:40
TW
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An analysis of employment figures by recruitment company Randstad indicates that Spain's hospitality sector has generated some 900,000 employment contracts this summer. These are 76% more than 2020 but 29% below pre-pandemic numbers.

In 2019, the number of contracts was the highest for ten years. There were increases in consecutive years until the interruption caused by the pandemic - hospitality contracts fell by 59.6% to 518,263.

The recovery this summer - the exact number of contracts is 912,401 - gives a situation very similar to that of 2014, when there were 908,436 contracts. Valentín Bote, director of research at Randstad, says that "the remarkable increase in hiring this year in hospitality, one of the most important sectors in the country, is unquestionably an indicator of recovery". "This is undoubtedly great news for our economy, but for the recovery to be complete, we need to see general growth in hiring in other sectors."

The growth in hospitality recruitment has been highest in the Balearics - up 138.5% - followed by the Canaries (127.6%) and Madrid (114.7%). Regions with growth below the 76% national average include Valencia (73.3%) and Andalusia (61.1%).

In real terms, though, Andalusia has had the highest percentage of contracts - 23.8% (216,857).