Social Security closed October with an average of 22,624,165 affiliates, the highest figure in its historical series, after adding 186,612 employed people compared to September. This is also the largest increase recorded in an October, according to data released by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
Compared to the same month last year, employment grew by 3.6%, with 784,573 more affiliates. If seasonality and calendar effects are discounted, affiliation also reached a historical high, with 22,571,105 employed people, after incorporating 90,309 workers in October. In this way, the labor market has chained 69 consecutive months of growth.
Foreign workers approach 3.7 million
The affiliation of foreign workers continues to grow and gain weight in the Spanish labor market. On average, Social Security records 3,699,878 affiliates from other countries, 16.4% of the total, after adding 63,899 employed people in October and 598,378 in the last year.
For their part, affiliates registered in connection with the extraordinary regularization process reached 490,586 at the end of the month. Of these, 75.2% are registered in the General Regime and 5.9% in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers, not counting the SETA. By gender, 59.7% are men and 40.3% are women.
Colombia concentrates 27.6% of the affiliates linked to this process, followed by Venezuela, with 15.7%. Catalonia and Madrid are the autonomous communities that gather the largest territorial weight of this group. In addition, since April, 557,410 people have been registered with Social Security for at least one day within the framework of this initiative.
Construction and self-employment lead growth
By sector, Construction registered the largest year-on-year increase, with 7.3% if the General Regime and the Self-Employed Regime are combined. This is followed by Real Estate Activities, with 5.8%; Artistic, Sports and Entertainment Activities, with 5.3%; and Publishing, Broadcasting and Content Production and Distribution Activities, with 5%.
In the General Regime, average affiliation increased by 3.8% compared to October last year, with 704,996 more employed people. Construction stands out again, with an 8.4% increase, followed by Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Fishing, with 6.8%; Hospitality, with 5.4%; and Artistic, Sports and Entertainment Activities, with 5.2%.
Self-employment also reaches a new high, with 3,501,598 affiliates, 2.3% more than a year ago and 79,163 additional employed people. The greatest advances are registered in Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply, with 16.1%; Telecommunications, Computer Programming, Consulting and Computer Infrastructure, with 15%; Publishing, Broadcasting and Content Production and Distribution Activities, with 9.1%; and Real Estate Activities, with 8.8%.
Female employment also reaches record figures
Female affiliation reaches 10,712,135 workers, 47.4% of the total, after adding 367,537 employed women in the last year. For their part, men reach 11,912,029 affiliates, with 417,036 additions compared to October 2025.
The data also reflect a reduction in temporary employment. The rate stands at 12.1%, compared to 28.3% registered in October 2021. Among those under 30, the percentage drops to 19.9%, well below the 51.7% of five years ago.
Finally, the ratio between contributors and pensioners remains at 2.51, its highest level since 2011. As for the daily evolution, affiliation exceeded 22.6 million workers on October 8 and remained above that figure uninterruptedly between the 13th and 29th of the month.