Entrepreneurs celebrate the strength of the labor market, but warn of the “suffering” of small entrepreneurs

The CEO pointed out this Tuesday that the data from employment in March they confirm “greater resistance” labor market, with more than 206,000 more contributors on average and almost 50,000 fewer unemployed, “despite economic uncertainty arising from the war in Ukraine, inflation and general increases in labor and production costs.”

However, the presiding organization Antonio Garamendi It warned of a loss of 1,300 self-employed workers compared to March 2022, with almost 20,000 fewer branches in the trade sector.

“Although overall employment is holding up, small businesses are suffering, which means so far loss of more than 6,000 self-employed since the beginning of the year and closure of more than 13,000 companies in the first two months of the year», denounces the employer.

Given this situation, the CEOE considers it “crucial” to redouble efforts to curb inflation and reduce bureaucratic and tax burdens, as well as labor costs, “which stifle the viability of small businesses.”

It also advocates the promotion of a “flexible, safe and predictable” regulatory framework that creates confidence in investors and prioritizes the maintenance and creation of jobs.

CEOE also emphasizes that despite the fact that March recorded the lowest unemployment figure for this month since 2008. Unemployment in Spain remains the highest in the Eurozone, with close to 2,900,000 unemployed“and this without taking into account the unemployed with limited availability or specific demand for work, which would put the real unemployment at about 3,400,000 people,” says the employer.

The business organization also highlighted the drop in temporary employment to an “historically low level” of 14%, with a particular incidence among women and young people, where temporary employment has fallen from 53% to 21% since the entry into force. labor reform.