The number of employees in the tourism sector increased by more than 137,000 in June

Employment in the tourism sector increased by 5% compared to a year ago and rose to 2,903,571 members in June. Workers affiliated in tourism activities accounted for 13.6% of the total number of members in the national economy.

The upward trend in the number of Social Security affiliates in the tourism sector continues. In June, the number of affiliates linked to tourism activities increased in absolute terms by 137,706, reaching a total of 2,903,571 workers. This represents an increase of 5% compared to the same month of the previous year. In relation to the labour market of the country as a whole, tourism employment now accounts for 13.6% of the total number of affiliates.

The number of members has increased in all sectors of tourism in June. In the hotel and catering industry, the increase was 79,258 members (25,155 in accommodation services and 54,103 in food and beverage services), and in travel agencies it reached 4,663 workers. The rest of the tourism activities also registered a joint increase of 53,785 employees.

For the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, this upward trend “reaffirms the work we are doing as a government to strengthen a tourism model that is committed to economic, social and environmental sustainability.”

He also pointed out that the high standards demanded by tourists visiting our country require, in addition to a good offer, quality jobs, salary improvements and digitalisation. “We will continue working for the excellence of our tourism model that contributes so much to the economy of our country,” he concluded.

Salaried workers grow

In June, the number of employees in the tourism sector increased by 5.8% compared to the same month last year and represents 82.5% of the total number of workers registered in this sector. By branch of activity, salaried employment increased in travel agencies and tour operators (6.9%) and in the hotel and catering industry (5.1%).

Self-employment in tourism, which represents 17.5% of all affiliated workers, increased by 1.5%. In travel agencies, there was an interannual increase of 7.4%, while in the hospitality industry the number of self-employed workers increased slightly (0.3%).

Canary Islands, Community of Madrid and Andalusia, the ones that grow the most

In June, employment in the hotel and catering industry, travel agencies and tour operators increased in all autonomous communities except the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. In relative terms, the year-on-year increases in the Canary Islands (6.1%), the Community of Madrid (5.8%) and Andalusia (5.2%) stood out.

In absolute figures, the largest increase was in Andalusia (17,792 more members), followed by the Community of Madrid (13,300 new members), Catalonia (with an increase of 11,068 members) and the Canary Islands (9,657 new members).