Expat Social Security registrations hit record levels in May

Social Security registrations for foreigners in May were the highest since July 2005.

Spain’s Ministry of Employment and Social Security has published its monthly statistics for new registrations by region, province, sector, country of origin and employment status for May 2018, showing an increase of 73,440 non-Spanish registrations compared to the same month last year…

This is the highest total of Social Security registrations by foreigners in any single month since July 2005 – almost exactly 13 years ago – and brings the number of expats currently registered to pay tax in Spain to an impressive 2,004,062.

In Andalucía alone, the interannual difference in May was 8.25% higher this year than in 2017, with the number of registered foreigners growing from 257,953 to 263,435 in the space of 12 months.

On a national level, Andalucía sits third in terms of total Social Security contributors from other countries, behind Cataluña (473,943 registrations) and Madrid (392,838 registrations), which together account for 43.2% of all non-Spanish taxpayers living and working in Spain.

This ranking by region is the same for self-employed workers. Cataluña has far and away the highest number of foreign autónomos – with 74,043 non-Spanish individuals in this category – while Madrid and Andalucía have 52,495 and 42,478 self-employed Social Security contributors, respectively.

The message here is that more and more expats are finding work in Spain as 2018 progresses. This is not coincidental given emerging evidence of the country’s continued economic recovery, reduced unemployment and an ever-increasing propensity for foreigners to buy property and settle in Spain.

But it is certainly good news for expats on the Costa del Sol. New retail businesses are popping up in time to take advantage of tourists’ high-season spending over the summer, new restaurants offering an eclectic mix of flavours from across the globe are opening up, and more expats have the security of knowing their job prospects are healthier than ever.

Remember that at VIVA we speak your language! Our international team is fluent in over 10 languages and will help you with any type of property request. Visit our website www.yourviva.com today.