Foreigners contributing to Social Security in Catalonia increased by 2.11% over July

Barcelona (ACN).- For yet another year the number of foreign workers registered to the Social Security system in Catalonia increased over the month of July, despite the economic crisis. The effects of the tourist season and the fruit collection campaigns caused their numbers to increase by 2.11% compared to the figures registered at the end of June. This increase represents a total of 400,075 foreign workers contributing to Social Security in Catalonia at the end of July. However, compared to a year ago, the figure represents a 4.74% drop. 284,808 are non-EU nationals, making up 71.1% of the total number of foreigners. Furthermore, 68% of the foreign workers are registered in the Barcelona Province, where two thirds of the Catalan population live. In the Province of Barcelona there were 272,110 foreign workers registered, 51,794 in Girona (north-eastern Catalonia), 41,539 in Tarragona (south) and 34,631 in Lleida (west).

Morocco-nationals were the largest community of foreign workers in Catalonia, with 49,516 people registered to the Social Security system, representing 12.37% of the total. They were followed by people from China and Bolivia, with some 23,000 workers each, regarding non-EU Nationals. Considering EU Member States, people from Romania represented almost 10% of all foreign workers in Catalonia, with 37,312 people registered to the Social Security system.

The vast majority of foreign workers were registered under the so-called “general regime”, meaning they were employed by a third party which pays their contributions to Social Security. They were 350,346 people (87.5% of the total) at the end of July. The rest, 46,147 people (11.53%) were registered as independent workers.

In the whole of Spain, the number of foreign workers registered to the Social Security system increased by 0.25% over July, with 4,412 more people on its lists. At the end of July, there were 1,764,932 foreign nationals registered to the Social Security system in the whole of Spain. It represents the fifth consecutive monthly increased. However, compared to July 2011, the number decreased by 4.59%.