Service industry boosts employment back to pre-pandemic levels in major expat area of Spain’s Costa Blanca

ORIHUELA and Orihuela Costa have seen unemployment drop to levels not seen since before the Covid-19  pandemic and lockdown.

Foto Aedl
UNEMPLOYMENT DROPPING: Victor Valverde with colleagues in the Office of Employment

The city’s Department of Employment has recorded a reduction of 13% at the end of 2021, compared to the same in 2020.

Orihuela Costa contains areas popular with expats of all nationalities, including the towns of Villamartin, Cabo Roig and La Zenia.

Those unemployed still number some 5,283, but that being 778 less than a year ago, figures look promising.

Víctor Valverde, local Councillor for Employment, affirmed that the drop: “takes us to figures prior to the year 2020, months before the pandemic began and destroyed so many options of work.”

According to the study into local employment, the service sector continues to enjoy the greatest increase in work.

Some 64% of those unemployed work in this sector, but 86% of those have temporary contracts.

Valverde emphasised that he will continue sourcing unemployment opportunities and the improvement of vocational qualifications.

This is expected from new training programs and sourcing new funds for projects to mitigate the negative effects of the area’s unemployment in the last few years.

READ MORE: Pedro Sanchez says Spain’s creating ‘quality jobs’ as unemployment tumbles in 17-year record fall

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