30,192 people were registered as unemployed in the last month of the year, representing a decrease of 4.8%.
Average enrolment in 2024 was 570,010 people, an increase of 3.3%, a figure that allows the territory to lead the ranking of communities in job creation.
The Balearic Islands reduced unemployment by an average of 8.3% in the year just ended and the average administrative unemployment rate stood at 5.4%, the lowest in Spain.
Cabrer reiterated the Government’s commitment to maintaining and improving employment figures in 2025, as well as working to increase the productivity of the business fabric and reduce the rate of absenteeism.
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The Balearic Islands registered 487,996 new registrations in December, an increase of 3.2%, and closed the year with stable employment figures
The Balearic Islands registered 487,996 Social Security registrations last December, a figure which, compared to December 2023, implies an increase of 15,085 more people employed, an increase of 3.2%. Moreover, the islands remain at the top of the ranking of autonomous communities, only behind the Canary Islands, which achieved a year-on-year increase in affiliations of 3.3%. In Spain as a whole, the average annual increase in Social Security registrations was 2.4%.
Among the sectors leading the enrolment in the Balearic Islands are hotels and catering (+3.5%), services (+3.8%), construction (+2.2%), industry (1.9%) and agriculture (+1.1%).
A comparison of the number of new registrations in December with the previous month shows a fall of 21,867 in the Balearic Islands, 4.3% less. In Spain as a whole, month-on-month enrolment rose by 0.2%.
By islands, considering the data for November, the latest available, enrolment is up on a year earlier. Thus, Mallorca recorded 405,411 people registered, 4.7% more than a year ago; Menorca 29,912, 2.6% more; Eivissa 55,438, an increase of 4.2% and Formentera 3,253, an additional 7.5%.
The regional secretary for Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, Catalina Cabrer, praised the employment figures for the entire year, specifically for December, which, she explained, ‘show that the Balearic Islands are consolidating an increasingly longer tourist season than ever before, which is directly linked to the Christmas campaign and will probably also be linked to the sales campaign’.
Cabrer also indicated that, as high levels of enrolment have been recorded throughout the year, the number of new recruits from November to December has not increased, which points to a constant rate of enrolment. In this sense, she concluded that ‘the Balearic Islands will maintain increasingly stable employment throughout the year 2024’.
Likewise, the regional secretary highlighted the low rates of part-time and temporary contracts: ‘we have increasingly stable employment and more permanent contracts’.
Looking ahead to 2025, Cabrer reiterated the Government’s commitment ‘to maintain and improve employment figures, as well as working to increase the productivity of our business fabric and reduce the absenteeism rate’.
Unemployment
Concerning unemployment, in December the Balearic Islands registered 30,192 unemployed people in the Balearic Islands compared to a year ago, representing a decrease of 1,517 people (-4.8%). Unemployment fell on all the islands: in Formentera (-13.2 %), in Eivissa (-9.2 %), followed by Menorca (-8.7 %) and Mallorca (-3.9 %). In Spain as a whole, year-on-year unemployment fell by 146,738 people (-5.4 %).
The administrative unemployment rate for the month of December was 5.8%, 0.5 points below the figures recorded a year earlier.
The administrative unemployment rate in December was 5.8%, 0.5 points lower than a year earlier.
By group, unemployment among women (-6.5 %), the over-25s (-6.6 %) and Spaniards (-7.3 %) fell compared with a year ago. On the other hand, unemployment rose among the under-25s (+9.6 %), EU foreigners (+3.5 %) and non-EU nationals (+5.1 %). Unemployment fell in all sectors except hotels and catering (+4.5 %) and most significantly in agriculture (-11.9 %) and industry (-11.3 %). Long-term unemployment among those registered for more than 12 months fell by -6.8%.
Unemployment fell in December compared to November by 1,105 persons, -3.5 %, making the Islands the autonomous community leading the month-on-month fall in unemployment. This decrease is found on all the islands, especially Formentera (-29.8%), followed by Eivissa (-10.7%), Menorca (-6.0%) and Mallorca (-2.3%). In the country as a whole, the data show a decrease in unemployment with respect to November of -1.0 %.
By groups, unemployment in the Balearic Islands fell compared to November, especially among men (-3.8 %), under-25s (-7.6 %) and EU foreigners (-8.5 %). In this category, unemployment fell in almost all sectors, especially in hotels and catering (-11.5 %) and agriculture (-5.4 %), while it rose in construction (+1.0 %).
The unemployment protection rate in December stood at 45.6%, 3.7 points higher than in December 2023 (41.9%).
Hiring
In terms of hiring, 17,837 new contracts were registered in the Balearic Islands in December, 970 more than in the same month a year ago (+5.8%). From this perspective, hiring increased above all in Eivissa (+12.0%) and Formentera (+9.4%), followed by Mallorca (+5.7%), and fell in Menorca (-5.5%). Hiring increased similarly among men and women, +5.8% and +5.7% respectively, and more markedly among those under 25 years of age (+12.1%) and non-EU foreigners (+7.2%). By sector, hiring increased above all in agriculture (+47.4%) and in the rest of services that do not include hotels and catering and commerce (+7.5%), while it fell in industry (-9.1%) and construction (-0.6%).
Comparing the hiring data with the previous month, there was a fall of 6,597 contracts, -27.0%. This drop in hiring occurred on all the islands, especially in Formentera (-67.1%), followed by Eivissa (-31.1%), Menorca (-27.7%) and Mallorca (-25.6%). By groups, hiring in this category fell most among men (-30.7 %), those over 25 years of age (+28.8 %) and among EU foreigners (-32.8 %). By sector, month-on-month hiring falls in industry (-46.6 %) and construction (-44.8 %), but rises in agriculture (+33.5 %).
In terms of the percentage of permanent contracts out of the total in this category in December, the Balearic Islands continues to lead the ranking by autonomous region, with 58.1% of permanent contracts compared to the national average of 37.8%. Compared with the previous year, temporary contracts increased by 8.7% and permanent contracts by 4.9%.
Self-employed
In the Balearic Islands, 99,687 people were self-employed in December, a figure that represents 20.4% of total registered employment. The number of people who have chosen this type of affiliation increased by 2,619 compared with a year ago (+2.7%) and fell by 862 (-0.9%) compared with the previous month.
Job seekers
The number of job seekers in the Balearic Islands in December stood at 136,486 people, which represents an increase of 2,116 applicants (+1.6%) compared to December 2023. The number of job seekers increased in Mallorca (+2.0 %), Menorca (+3.0 %) and Formentera (+2.7 %), and decreased in Eivissa (-1.5 %).
With respect to November, the number of job seekers on the islands increased by 14,498 people (+11.9 %). In month-on-month terms, job seekers increased most in Mallorca (+14.0 %), followed by Eivissa (+7.3 %) and Menorca (+4.8 %), while they decreased in Formentera (-1.3 %).
Protection and quality of employment
On the other hand, the unemployment benefit protection rate for all jobseekers in December stood at 63.3%, which is 11.6 points higher than the protection rate for the same month a year ago.
Finally, according to the latest available data for November, the rate of temporary employment in the territory is 9.8% compared to 13.9% in Spain, and the rate of part-time employment is 15.9%, while the national rate is 20.6%.
Balance
As for the balance of 2024, the regional secretary explained that the Balearic Islands recorded an average annual enrolment of 570,010 people, a figure that represents 3.3% more people joining the labour market than in 2023. This result has allowed the territory to close the year among the leading communities in terms of job creation. The national average number of new job registrations in 2024 stood at 2.4%.
Likewise, the average number of unemployed people in the Balearic Islands was 28,943 people, which implies a reduction of 8.3% compared to 2023. The average administrative unemployment rate stood at 5.4%, the lowest in Spain. In Spain as a whole, this figure closed at 11.8 %.
In 2024, the islands also lowered the rate of temporary employment to 8.7% on average and the rate of part-time jobs to 12.7%, while in Spain these figures were 14.4% and 20.4% respectively.
Cabrer said that throughout 2024 ‘the Balearic Islands have been a leading community in job creation’. The head of Employment highlighted the fact that the territory has behaved with rates of temporary and partial employment ‘quite positive in comparison with the whole of Spain’ and explained that the unemployment figures for 2024 ‘were at an all-time low since the Balearic Islands have been registered, as was the administrative unemployment rate, which is half that of Spain as a whole and places us at the forefront, close to full employment’.