Mallorca and all of the Balearics is facing a bit of a conundrum because during the peak summer month of August, nearly 600 people lost their jobs at a time when the tourist industry in particular should be steaming. Media reports have claimed that in areas such as Puerto Soller, restaurants were either laying people off or send then on holiday due to a significant drop in trade, some industry sources have contested that, but the figures speak for themselves.
Unemployment registered at public employment services offices rose by 582 people in August in the Balearics compared to the previous month (+2.3%) to 25,968 unemployed, although year-on-year unemployment fell by 7.6% (2,144 fewer unemployed) in the islands, according to data published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy.
This total number of unemployed is the lowest figure for August since 2002. Since the beginning of the comparable historical series in 1996, unemployment has risen in August most of the time in the Balearics (24 times) while it has fallen on five occasions, with last month’s rise being the smallest increase since 2015. Over the last year, unemployment has fallen by 2,144, representing a 7.6% decrease.
By sector, unemployment fell among those who had not previously been employed, down 109 (-4.77%); agriculture, down 6 (-1.92%), while it increased in services, up 566 (+3.11%); construction, up 116 (+3.42%); industry, up 15 (+1.28%). At the end of the month, the sectors with the highest unemployment were Services (18,790) and Construction (3,506), while the sectors with the lowest unemployment were Agriculture (306), Industry (1,190) and No previous employment (2,176).
In terms of gender, of the 25,968 unemployed registered in August, 14,784 were women, 632 more (+4.5%), and 11,184 were men, representing an increase of 614 in the number of unemployed compared to the previous month (+5.8%). In August, unemployment among young people under 25 increased, with 27 more unemployed than at the end of last month (+1.1%), while unemployment among people aged 25 and over increased by 1,219 (+5.47%).
In August, 26,201 contracts were registered in the Balearics, 12.7% less than in the same month last year. Of these, 16,186 were permanent contracts, 6.9% less than in August last year, and 10,015 were temporary contracts (20.8% less). Of the number of contracts registered in August, 38.22% were temporary (compared to 31.33% in the previous month) and 61.78% were permanent (compared to 68.67% in the previous month).
And, across Spain, the number of people registering as jobless rose 0.91% in August from a month earlier, or by 21,905, leaving a total of 2.43 million people out of work, data from the Labour Ministry’s website showed on Tuesday. Unemployment generally falls at the beginning of the summer as the tourism industry hires a lot of season workers and rises when the flow of tourists ebbs at the end of summer.
However, during August, the number of net formal jobs grew 29,836 to 21.67 million, on a calendar-adjusted and excluding seasonality, a separate report from the Social Security Ministry showed. And it has not just been Mallorca. The decline in turnover reported by most Menorcan restaurants throughout the tourist season has begun to claim its first victims. The loss of customers and the drop in average spending have dampened business expectations in a sector that is showing signs of saturation. We will have to wait and see what happens in the final stretch of the season to gauge the extent of the problem, but restaurateurs themselves recognise that it is logical that the situation will ultimately lead to a sort of streamlining of what they consider to be an excessive supply for the size of the island.