Tourism Employment Reaches 2.95 Million Workers in June, Up 1.9% Year-on-Year

International

The number of people registered with Social Security in the tourism sector continued to rise in June, showing a 1.9% increase compared to the same period last year.

This month saw a growth of 56,304 workers in tourism-related activities, bringing the total to 2.59 million. In comparison, the national labour market grew by 1.6% in May. Tourism employment now accounts for 13.7% of all Social Security registrations.

All tourism-related branches recorded employment gains in June. Hospitality saw an increase of 23,997 affiliates (14,647 in accommodation services and 9,350 in food and beverage services), while travel agencies added 1,239 workers. Other tourism-related activities contributed an additional 31,068 jobs.

Salaried Employment Continues to Grow

In June, the number of salaried workers in the tourism sector—one of the indicators used by the Ministry to assess the quality of employment—grew by 2.3% compared to the same month last year. Salaried employees make up 82.7% of the workforce in this sector. By activity, salaried employment rose in travel agencies and tour operators (1.2%) and in hospitality (1.5%), with a 3.1% rise in accommodation services and 0.9% in food and beverage services.

Self-employment in tourism, representing 17.3% of total affiliates, grew by 0.5%. In the hospitality sector, there was a 0.2% decrease in self-employment due to a 0.4% drop in food and beverage services, which was not offset by the 3.3% increase in accommodation services. Travel agencies recorded a 3% year-on-year rise in the number of self-employed workers.

Across hospitality and travel agencies/tour operators—sectors that together account for 68.6% of all tourism-related Social Security registrations—employment rose by 1.3% year-on-year. This increase was driven by growth in salaried jobs (1.5%), as the number of self-employed workers remained largely unchanged.

Canary Islands and Cantabria Lead in Relative Growth

In June 2025, employment in the combined sectors of hospitality and travel agencies/tour operators increased in all regions except for Navarre, Madrid, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. In absolute terms, Andalusia registered the highest increase (363,847 additional affiliates), while in relative terms, the strongest growth was seen in the Canary Islands and Cantabria, both up by 2.4%.