Balearic and Canary Islands, leaders in job creation in January

The Balearic Islands recorded a 3.2% increase in employment in January 2025, reaching 480,868 Social Security affiliations. This represents 14,827 more employed people compared to January of the previous year. The region remains among the top-ranked in Spain, only surpassed by the Canary Islands, which experienced a 3.4% increase. Nationally, employment growth stood at 2.4%.

Despite the positive year-on-year trend, affiliations have decreased compared to December, with a drop of 7,129 people (-1.5%). At the national level, the month-on-month decline was 1.1%.

Catalina Cabrer, Regional Secretary for Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, presenting the January unemployment data in the Balearic Islands. Photo: CAIB.

Regarding unemployment in the Balearic Islands, it fell by 5% in January compared to the previous year, with a total of 29,560 unemployed people. On a month-on-month basis, the decline was 2.1%, making the region the only one in Spain to reduce unemployment in January compared to December.

By island:

Mallorca: -4.8%
Ibiza: -6.6%
Menorca: -6.5%
Formentera: -1.7%

Nationally, year-on-year unemployment fell by 6.1%.

The administrative unemployment rate stands at 5.8%, 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous year, consolidating the region’s progress towards full employment.

Boost for the self-employed

Self-employment continues to rise in the region, with 98,754 people registered as self-employed in January, representing 20.5% of total employment. Year-on-year, the number of self-employed workers has increased by 2.6% (+2,546 people), while compared to December, it has decreased by 0.9% (-933 people).

Catalina Cabrer, Regional Secretary for Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, positively assessed these figures, highlighting the growth of self-employment as a reflection of the government’s commitment to entrepreneurship.

Hiring

A total of 21,405 new contracts were registered in January, 278 fewer than the previous year (-1.3%).

Year-on-year variation:

Men: -2.8%
Women: +0.9%
Under 25s: +4.4%
Over 25s: -2.6%
EU foreign nationals: -4.9%
Non-EU foreign nationals: +6.6%

By sector:

Commerce: +4.3%
Industry: -14.3%
Agriculture: -13.7%

Compared to December, hiring increased by 20% (+3,568 contracts), with rises across all islands:

Ibiza: +38.2%
Formentera: +18.1%
Mallorca: +17.8%
Menorca: +11.0%

Permanent contracts:

65.4% of all contracts in the Balearic Islands, compared to the national average of 41.9%.
Year-on-year decline of 3.4% in permanent contracts, while temporary contracts increased by 2.8%.