CEPYME values ​​the efforts of companies to sustain employment despite the rise in costs

2023-05-04 13:59:12

The good performance of the labor market in April reflects the effort of Spanish companies in maintaining and creating employment despite the greater burdens they bear in the form of rising labor costs, increases in the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI), contributions, taxes, inflation and financial expenses.

The good employment data for April -occupation increased by 238,436 affiliates, reaching a total of 20.6 million contributors- have a clear seasonal component due to the start of the tourist campaign, as evidenced by a large part of the increase in more than 200,000 employed in the services sector.

They also reflect the ability of companies to adapt to new regulatory environments such as the hiring regime that redefined the labor reform.

The evolution of the labor market is consistent with that of economic growth, however, CEPYME warns that the recovery of employment exceeds the intensity with which the Spanish economy is growing, since the GDP levels of the last quarter of 2019, thus seeing productivity weighed down.

The Confederation considers that the commitment of the Spanish company to the foreign sector has been especially relevant for the maintenance and creation of employment, since it has acted as a mainstay, boosting growth at the start of the year, which once again shows the capacity of companies to adapt and overcome the difficulties of the internal market.

Although the weather has had its positive impact on sectors such as services, this has not been the case in agriculture, especially affected by the drought, the sharp increase in costs and the rise in the SMI. Although in April there has been a monthly recovery in agricultural employment (+16,776 employed), the sector has lost employment for 21 months in year-on-year terms and is at the lowest level in recent years.

CEPYME recommends attending to the symptoms of weakness that can be glimpsed in some productive branches. Industrial production reflects less dynamism and inflation continues to be very high -especially underlying inflation, which is above 7%-, which does not point to a quick relaxation of financial costs, just when household consumption falls .

In this context, CEPYME recommends paying special attention to the evolution of prices in order to avoid fueling second-round effects that transfer inflation to the labor market.

It is necessary to carefully monitor any signs of fragility and support companies and the self-employed. Although there are 12,935 more self-employed in April, in line with the seasonal component of the good employment data, the number of self-employed has practically stagnated for nine months.