The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has released the latest statistics on days contributed to the Social Security system, as well as effective hours worked and hours contributed, corresponding to the third quarter of 2025. The data confirm a strong and sustained recovery of the labour market since the period prior to the pandemic.
The Secretary of State for Social Security and Pensions, Borja Suárez, highlighted that the figures reflect not only job creation but also a substantial improvement in job quality. In particular, he noted that the share of days contributed by women has reached a historic high, accounting for 47.9% of the total.
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Effective days worked increase by 14.3%, and hours contributed rise by 14.5% compared to pre-pandemic levels
Overall, the index of days contributed has increased by 16.7% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. To provide a more accurate picture of actual labour activity, days corresponding to temporary furlough schemes, temporary incapacity and certain benefits have been excluded. Once adjusted, the effective contributed days show a growth of 14.3% up to the third quarter of 2025.
A gender-based analysis reveals a stronger increase among women. While women accounted for 47.4% of contributed days in the fourth quarter of 2019, their share now stands at 47.9%. Over the same period, the proportion of men has declined slightly from 52.6% to 52.1%.
By sector, high-value-added activities have led the growth in effective contributed days since 2019. The Education sector records the strongest increase, with a cumulative rise of 40.7%, followed by Information and Communication, with growth exceeding 34.3%, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, with an increase of 26.6%.
The impact of the labour market reform is clearly visible in the distribution of contributed days by contract type. In December 2021, prior to the reform’s implementation, 72.3% of contributed days corresponded to permanent contracts, compared to 27.7% for temporary contracts. By the third quarter of 2025, permanent contracts account for 87% of total contributed days, while temporary contracts have fallen to 13%.
Regarding effective hours worked, the index reaches 114.5 points in the third quarter of 2025, with the fourth quarter of 2019 set as the reference value of 100. This represents an increase of 14.5% compared to pre-pandemic levels. The trend closely mirrors that observed in other administrative labour statistics, although it diverges from some survey-based indicators, a discrepancy that has been evident since late 2021.
These statistics are calculated using Social Security affiliation records and contribution base data managed by the General Treasury of the Social Security system, providing a robust and detailed overview of employment and labour activity trends.