Santiago Sesé, president of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services, and Navigation of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has advocated for training and the acquisition of technological skills as fundamental pathways to enhance salaries, business profitability, and labor conditions in the Canary Islands.
Following the unemployment figures for August, Sesé stated that increased productivity, driven by training in technological skills, can lead to higher salaries and business profits, thereby balancing business competitiveness with improved labor conditions.
The Chamber's president positively assessed the unemployment and Social Security affiliation figures, which indicate a stable situation. In August, unemployment saw a slight monthly increase of 0.2% (291 more people), but year-on-year, unemployment in the Canary Islands decreased by 3.8%, a rate higher than the national average.
Average Social Security affiliation also remains stable, with a monthly growth of 0.2% (2,153 more affiliates than in July) and a year-on-year increase of 3.1%, in line with Spain's average. Affiliation stands at 963,719 people.
Sesé cautioned about the potential difficulty in maintaining these employment levels if economic activity slows down in the coming months, despite describing the current stability as "good news".
The Canary Islands ended August with 144,459 registered unemployed individuals, 5,756 fewer than a year ago. The year-on-year unemployment in the archipelago is declining more significantly than in Spain as a whole, where it increased by 1.9% during the month.
Sectoral evolution shows slight monthly increases in unemployment in industry (0.9%), construction (0.6%), and services (0.2%). Compared to the previous year, unemployment has decreased across all sectors, led by construction (-8.1%) followed by Agriculture and Fishing (-6.1%).
By provinces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife recorded 385 more unemployed individuals than in July, while Las Palmas saw a decrease of 94. However, year-on-year unemployment declined in both provinces, by 3.2% in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and 4.4% in Las Palmas.
Regarding hiring, 59,880 contracts were formalized in the Canary Islands in August, of which 42% were permanent. Although hiring decreased compared to July, it increased by 4.1% compared to the same month of the previous year.
