Menorca leads the fall in unemployment across the Balearic Islands as permanent contracts almost double the Spanish average

The Balearic Islands continue to hold one of the strongest positions in the Spanish labour market in terms of permanent employment contracts, with a rate that is almost twice the national average. This positive trend is accompanied by particularly strong figures in Menorca, where unemployment fell by 6.1% year on year in August, the sharpest decline of any island in the archipelago.

The figures were highlighted by the Balearic Minister for Labour, Public Administration and Social Dialogue, Catalina Cabrer, during the presentation of the labour market report for August. Across the Balearic Islands as a whole, unemployment fell by 1% compared with the same month of the previous year.

One of the most significant indicators is the proportion of permanent contracts. In the Balearic Islands, 62.5% of all contracts are permanent, well above the Spanish average of 38.5%. This difference keeps the archipelago at the top of the national ranking for employment contract quality.

“The Balearic Islands have a dynamic and strengthened labour market, with very positive indicators in terms of employment quality. We are leaders in permanent contracts and practically double the Spanish average,” Cabrer said.

Menorca records the largest fall in unemployment

There were 25,706 unemployed people in the Balearic Islands in August, 262 fewer than a year earlier, representing a year-on-year decline of 1%.

By island, Menorca clearly recorded the strongest performance, with unemployment falling by 6.1%. Mallorca followed with a decline of 0.8%, while Ibiza registered a fall of 0.4%. Formentera was the only island to record an increase, with 10 additional unemployed people, up 14.5%.

Long-term unemployment also fell significantly, by almost 20%. According to the Balearic Government, this improvement is linked to measures implemented by the Ministry of Labour, Public Administration and Social Dialogue through programmes such as the Intensive Employment Monitoring Plan promoted by the SOIB employment service.

By population group, unemployment fell most notably among women, down 1.3%; people over the age of 25, down 1.8%; and EU foreign nationals, down 5.7%.

By contrast, unemployment increased among people under the age of 25, up 6.5%, and especially among non-EU foreign nationals, where it rose by 33.9%.

Nearly 900 registrations linked to the extraordinary regularisation process

The report also reflects the first effects of the extraordinary regularisation process introduced by Spain’s central government. Since the process began, 870 foreign nationals have registered as jobseekers with the SOIB under the RE code, which corresponds to extraordinary regularisation.

In just two months, registrations have increased by 288.4%, almost quadrupling the initial figure. At the end of June there were 224 registrations, rising to 587 at the end of July and reaching 870 by the end of August.

Regarding the profile of this group, 89.1% have only completed primary education and 90% are currently unemployed.

More than 693,000 people registered with Social Security

In terms of employment registration, 693,812 people were registered with Spain’s Social Security system in the Balearic Islands in August. This represents 26,872 more workers than in the same period of the previous year, an increase of 4%.

Self-employment also continued to grow. In August, there were 110,124 self-employed workers registered in the Balearic Islands, accounting for 15.9% of total registered employment.

Compared with August of the previous year, the number of self-employed workers increased by 2,779, or 2.6%. Compared with the previous month, the figure rose by 196, equivalent to 0.2%.

The figures therefore point to a Balearic labour market with high employment registration levels and a particularly strong share of permanent contracts, while Menorca stands out in August for having recorded the sharpest fall in unemployment of all the islands.