The Diplomat
More than 200,000 foreigners have joined the Social Security system in the last year, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.2% and bringing the total number of registered workers to 3,122,003, according to November data released this Wednesday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration.
With these figures, the average registration rate for workers from other countries is almost five percentage points higher than the overall registration rate, which has increased by 2.5% in the last year.
The number of workers from Venezuela has seen the largest increase in the last twelve months, with an average increase of 42,178 registered workers. They are followed by Colombia (29,771) and Morocco (28,028), which is also the country that contributes the most workers: 370,346 in total.
Overall, foreign workers represent 14.1% of contributors, 0.61% more than in November 2014. In the last year, Asturias (22.1%), Galicia (15.2%), and Extremadura (14.9%) led the growth, autonomous communities where the percentage of foreign workers is well below the national average. In Asturias, they represent 7.4% of contributors; 7.1% in Galicia; and 5.2% in Extremadura.
“The contribution of foreign workers to the growth in membership in the last year is very positive,” stated the Minister, Elma Saiz. “Their presence is fundamental in some sectors, such as hospitality, and is growing significantly in others, such as high value-added activities,” he added.
The contribution of foreign workers is especially relevant in some sectors of the General Social Security Scheme. This is the case in hospitality, where they represent one in three employed individuals (28.8% of registered workers), agriculture (25.3%), construction (23.2%), transportation (17.8%), and administrative activities (17.6%).
In transportation and storage, the number of foreign workers registered has grown considerably, with a 31.4% increase compared to a year ago. The number of employed foreign workers has also increased in water supply (14.4%) and construction (13%), as well as in agriculture (10.7%), mining and quarrying (10.4%), and public administration (11.2%), among others.
Likewise, the number of foreign workers registered with Social Security has grown significantly in sectors with higher added value, such as Healthcare and Central Services (8%), Financial Activities (7.8%), Information and Communications (6.1%), and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Activities (6.2%).
The number of self-employed workers from other countries approached half a million in November, surpassing a new record. A total of 495,635 entrepreneurs were registered, 6.4% more than a year ago. This growth is well above the average for all self-employed workers, which grew by 1.2%.
This increase is even more pronounced in highly skilled sectors. In the last year, the number of self-employed foreign workers has increased by 26.4% in Information and Communications, 21% in Energy Supply, 19% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities and 14.6% in Financial and Insurance Activities.