One in 9 workers in the Canaries is still in ERTE after a year of the pandemic

The Canary Islands ended March with 86,826 workers still in ERTE, which means that 11.24% of the 771,875 contributors to Social Security in the islands (one in nine) still have their employment suspended totally or partially, after more than a year has passed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to data published today (Tuesday) by the Ministry of Labour, the number of workers included in an ERTE was reduced in the Canary Islands by 2,733 people from February to March, which is 3.05%.

As of now, 11.67% of all employees in ERTE in all of Spain worked in the Canary Islands, which is 86,826 out of 743,628. This percentage rate is almost three times what the islands represent in the group of Social Security affiliates: 4.07% (771,875 out of a total of 18.92 million).

Last month, the number of workers in ERTE was reduced in the Canary Islands in all its modalities: it fell to 4,508 people in conventional files (91 less, -1.97%), to 10,163 in those of common force majeure (1,296 less, -11.30%) and 72,155 in those of force majeure linked to the pandemic (1,346 less, -1.83%).

Workers subject to an ERTE continue to count as contributors to Social Security. You can get out of your situation in two ways: either by recovering the activity or by adding to the unemployment lists. The unemployment figures published today suggest that last month most of the 2,733 workers who left an ERTE in the Canary Islands recovered their activity, because unemployment did not grow, in fact it fell by 2,827 people, and the number of people affiliated with Social Security rose.

At the end of March, 771,875 employed or self-employed workers were contributing to Social Security in the Canary Islands, 3,449 more than in February (+0.45%), but 26,302 less than a year ago (-3.30%). Of the total number of contributors on the islands, 636,265 are affiliated to the general scheme, 129,551 are self-employed and 6,058 belong to the scheme for seafarers.