The Canary Islands finished the first quarter of the year with 175,838 workers affiliated to Social Security in hospitality and tourism businesses, 4,181 more, making it the autonomous community where employment in this sector has grown the most in comparative terms, with a rise of 2.4%.
Of that global figure, 157,536 are salaried employees, 2.6% more, and 18,302 are self-employed, 1.3% more.
The number of people affiliated to Social Security in the tourism sector increased in March by 0.9% in year-on-year comparison, in almost 25,000 people, despite the fact that this year does not include Easter, which is celebrated in April, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism reported on Tuesday.
With this increase, the total number of workers linked to tourism registered in Social Security exceeded 2.7 million people, representing 13% of the total affiliation that existed at the close of March, a month in which the labor market of the country as a whole grew by 1.7% year-on-year.
The variation in the number of affiliates was not positive in all tourism branches, which is due, the ministry insists, to the fact that Easter did not fall in March this year. For example, in hospitality there was a decrease of 13,745 affiliates (6,489 in accommodation services and 7,256 in food and beverage services).
For their part, travel agencies increased their staff by 1,822 workers, while in other tourism activities the increase was 36,548 workers.
Canary Islands, the fastest growing
By Autonomous Communities, employment grew in the hospitality and travel agencies and tour operators sector in Madrid, Canary Islands, Basque Country, Ceuta, Melilla and Navarra.
In relative terms, the community that grew the most in March was the Canary Islands, 2.4%.
In contrast, and in absolute figures, the largest decreases occurred in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, while in relative terms the largest decrease occurred in the Balearic Islands (-6.5%).
