The number of employees affected by a collective dismissal decreased in July by 30.5% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 3,473 people, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy.
In contrast, the workers included in a work regulation file for reduced hours increased significantly, multiplying by more than two (+119.9%), reaching 1,258 affected. On the other hand, employees subjected to contract suspension procedures decreased by 25.7%, remaining at 4,561 workers.
Adding collective dismissals, hour cuts, and employment suspensions, 9,292 workers were recorded in employment regulations in July, representing a decrease of 20.7% compared to July 2025.
Of the total salaried workers included in employment regulation procedures, 16.5% (1,529) were affected by files motivated by force majeure, which represents a year-on-year increase of 28.9%. The remaining 83.5% (7,763 workers) were involved in regulations linked to economic, technical, organizational, and production causes (ETOP), which fell by 26.3% on an annual basis.
Labor specifies that when the same procedure affects several workplaces located in different provinces, the statistics register one file for each province. Likewise, if a company reports affected workers in different months, one procedure is counted for each of those months.
Generalized declines by sectors except in agriculture
The Ministry's data shows that the workers affected by employment regulations decreased in July in all major economic sectors, with the only exception being agriculture, where they multiplied by more than four (+354.5%), reaching 50 employees.
Conversely, in construction, the affected dropped by 44.4%, down to 235 workers. In services, they fell by 28.8%, with 3,720 employees involved, while in industry, the decrease was 12.7%, totaling 5,287 workers.
If only the figure of collective dismissal is analyzed, the affected decreased in July in all sectors except in agriculture, where they multiplied by almost six (+483.3%), reaching 35 employees.
This strong advance in the field contrasts with the declines in the rest of the branches of activity. In construction, workers involved in collective layoffs decreased by 44.4%, down to 185 people. Industry cut its affected by 43.6%, down to 807, and services recorded a drop of 24.3%, down to 2,446 workers.
Regarding the suspension of contracts, increases only occurred in the agricultural sector, where the number of affected employees tripled (+200%), up to 15. In the rest of the sectors, setbacks occurred, led by services (-34.8%, down to 1,118 workers) and construction (-32.9%, down to 49). In industry, the decrease was 22.3%, down to 3,379 employees.
As for the reduction of working hours files, industry was the only sector where the number of involved workers grew, multiplying by more than four (+303.3%), up to 1,101 employees. Construction recorded the largest collapse (-94.1%), followed by services (-44.7%), while the agricultural sector did not account for any affected workers by this type of procedure.
Catalonia leads employment regulations by communities
By autonomous communities, Catalonia was the region with the highest number of workers affected by employment regulations in July in absolute terms, with 2,386. Next were the Basque Country (1,120), Valencian Community (1,064 workers), Andalusia (954 workers), and Madrid (883).
In relative terms, La Rioja was the autonomous community where the number of affected increased the most, almost tripling (+195.9%), up to 216 workers.
Also noteworthy are the year-on-year increases in the Balearic Islands, which doubled its number of affected by employment regulations (+100%), up to 42 workers, and Catalonia, which recorded an advance of 70.1%.
On the opposite side, the sharpest declines occurred in Cantabria (-79.4%), Navarre (-74.0%), Castilla-La Mancha (-62.8%), and Murcia (-54.2%).