Social Security registers a new record with more than 3,248,000 foreign affiliates, after an increase of almost 100,000 in the last month

Social Security has once again registered a new record number of foreign affiliates both in the original series, average, and in seasonally adjusted terms. Specifically, there are 3,248,247 affiliates on average in April, which is 96,684 more than in the previous month and 250,939 more than a year ago. This figure puts the year-on-year change at 8.4%, while the year-on-year change in overall affiliation is 2.4%.

Specifically, discounting the calendar effect, Social Security now has 3,233,241 registered foreign workers, after adding 249,780 in the last 12 months.

"The success of our labour market goes hand in hand with the increase of foreign affiliation to our Social Security System, as they already represent 14.7% of contributors. We also see that their presence is increasingly diversifying across a larger number of sectors. It is very noteworthy that entrepreneurs working in the Telecommunications and Computer Programming sector are gaining ground, where they already represent 32% of those employed", explains Minister Elma Saiz.

Overall, the number of foreign affiliates has increased by more than 890,000 since April 2022. In fact, 42.9% of the employment created since the implementation of the labour reform corresponds to foreign workers.

Average contributors

Of the 3,250,000 foreign affiliates, 1.85 million are men, while the number of women exceeds 1.4 million for the first time. The presence of female workers from other countries is increasing overall and represents 43.1% of all foreign workers.

Around 30% of foreign workers come from European Union countries.

Morocco remains the country with the most national insurance contributors, now exceeding 400,000 (404,402). It is followed by Romania (346,719), Colombia (275,695), Venezuela (224,428), Italy (214,970), China (129,207), Peru (109,146) and Ukraine (81,707).

Among these nationalities, the increase in Venezuelan affiliates stands out, having multiplied tenfold in the last decade.

Sectors of salaried workers

While they represent 14.7% of all registered workers, the contribution of foreign workers is particularly significant in some sectors of the General Social Security Scheme. In Hospitality, they represent 29.8% of contributors; in Agriculture, 27.1%; in Construction, 24.6%; in Transportation, 17.7%; and in Administrative Activities, 17.7%. In the Special System for Domestic Workers, they represent 43.5%, and in the Agricultural System, 40.7%.

In addition, it is worth noting the high percentage of foreign workers with permanent contracts, 88.7% of the total. When compared to the average percentage for the period 2017-2021, prior to the labour reform (58.9%), the figure is even more striking.

Meanwhile, the temporary employment rate for this group of workers has fallen to historic lows, with the percentage of foreign workers with temporary contracts dropping to 11.3%, also below that of Spanish nationals (11.6%). This percentage contrasts sharply with the average for the 2017-2021 period, which reached 41.1% of the total.

Entrepreneurship in high-skill sectors

On the other hand, the number of self-employed workers continues to grow and stands at 512,653, which is 6.8% more than a year ago.

It is worth noting the growing presence of foreign workers who are starting businesses in highly skilled sectors such as Telecommunications and Computer Programming, where they now represent 32% of those registered in this sector, meaning they are now one in three entrepreneurs. It is also significant in other activities, such as Household activities (26.3%), Hotels and restaurants (25.3%), Real estate activities (18.4%) or Administrative activities (18.3%).

Non official translation