Overview
- Social Security affiliation fell to 21.57 million and registered unemployment rose by 30,392 to 2,439,062, the lowest January jobless total in 18 years with 160,381 fewer unemployed than a year earlier.
- The services sector accounted for nearly all of the monthly rise in joblessness after the Christmas campaign, while unemployment fell in construction and was flat in industry.
- Catalonia led monthly job losses in affiliation, Huelva was the only province with a net employment gain, and the Balearic Islands were the only region where registered unemployment declined.
- Migrant workers and women bore proportionally larger monthly job losses, and the gap between affiliation declines and smaller increases in registered unemployment reflects the role of fixed‑discontinuous contracts.
- Officials cited adverse weather and a new sectoral methodology that limits detailed comparisons, as unions highlighted interannual strength and employer groups warned about regulatory costs and pressure on the self‑employed after a 19,021 drop in January.