In May, the tourism sector in Spain recorded a notable increase in the number of affiliated workers, reaching the figure of 3 million, which represents an increase of 87,690 people compared to the same month of the previous year, according to data published by Turespaña.
This growth of 2.9% contrasts with the 2.7% increase in the general labor market of the country, indicating that tourism continues to be an important engine for employment, constituting 13.7% of the total affiliates.
The hospitality sector was the main driver of this growth, with an increase of 45,202 affiliates, broken down into 19,783 corresponding to accommodation services and 25,419 to food and beverage services. However, not all areas of tourism showed positive results; travel agencies experienced a decrease of 1,552 workers, a figure that, as clarified in the technical note, does not reflect a real decline, but is due to changes in the classification of activities.
Regarding the composition of employment, the number of salaried workers in the tourism sector, which represents 83.3% of the total, grew by 3.2% compared to the previous year. Despite a slight decrease in employment in travel agencies and tour operators, self-employment also showed a growth of 1.7%. The most notable figures were recorded in the Valencian Community, where employment in tourism grew by 3.9%, thus leading the statistics of increase by autonomous communities.
