The fashion industry's workforce begins the year declining. In the first quarter of this year, estimated employment in textiles, apparel and footwear again recorded a year-on-year decline. Fashion has cut its workforce for more than four straight quarters. On a quarterly basis, fashion also reduced its workforce, according to data from the Active Population Survey (EPA), published today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
specific, The textile industry ended the period with a workforce of 48,600 employees, a decrease of 2% compared to the number of workers in the sector in the first quarter of 2023.. The development of textiles during 2023 was the most positive, and closed the year as the only sector with positive values, with the number of employed people reaching 58,800 people in the last quarter of 2023. On a quarterly basis, the decline amounted to 17.3%.
Apparel, for its part, once again recorded a decline in headcount. The sector started 2024 with 35,400 workers, 38.4% fewer than in the first months of last year.. Apparel has historically been the largest employer in Spain's fashion industry, but since the second quarter of 2023, it has been the company with the fewest workers. Never, even during the pandemic, has employment in this sector declined as sharply as it did in the second quarter of 2023.
Shoes also reduced its staff, but in a more moderate way. Specifically, the number of workers in the sector decreased by 7.2% to 46,400 people. The development of workers in the sector during the last fiscal year was negative in all quarters, making it the sector with the lowest decline in all quarters of 2023. But compared to the last quarter, the sector is the only one that increased its weight by 3.8%.
The development recorded by fashion in the first quarter of 2024 is contrary to the trend set by employment as a whole in Spain. he The number of workers in the country once again exceeded 21 million people in this periodAn increase of 3% compared to the first quarter of 2023.
The largest increases in employment occurred in the Madrid region, where the number reached 44,700. On the other hand, the largest decrease occurred in the Basque Country, where the number of employed people decreased by 39,200 people. Regarding unemployment, the largest decrease was recorded in the Canary Islands, with a decrease of 14,500, and the largest increase in the Balearic Islands, with an increase of another 28,300.
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