The demand for labour not only reflects the region’s economic priorities but also the seasonal nature of tourism. Within this context, the hospitality sector plays a pivotal role, while other industries, such as cleaning and retail, also make significant contributions to employment. These trends underscore how crucial the service sector is to the economic ecosystem of the Canary Islands.
Vocational Training
Waiters and servers, regardless of the terminology used, represent the most in-demand profession in southern Tenerife. Nearly 20% of employment contracts signed in December involved salaried waiters, followed by cleaning staff (14.46%), shop assistants (12.75%), kitchen assistants (5%), and salaried chefs (4.19%).
The profession of waiting staff continues to dominate the employment landscape in southern Tenerife and across the Canary Islands as a whole. In December 2024, this sector accounted for 19.33% of all signed employment contracts regionally, according to the monthly report by the Canary Islands Employment Observatory (Obecan), the governmental body dedicated to employment and vocational training.
Decline in Unemployment in 2024
The Canary Islands concluded 2024 with 156,344 unemployed individuals, 11,501 fewer than the previous year—a 6.85% decrease. According to Obecan’s statistics, 57% of registered unemployed individuals are women, while 43% are men. Among sectors, hospitality saw the highest demand for staff in December, accounting for 14.83%, followed by retail (16.16%) and construction (9.02%).
Notably, unemployment decreased across all sectors in December, except in construction, where it remained stable or slightly increased. However, when looking at the entire year, unemployment fell across the board, led by the agricultural sector, which saw a reduction of 24.95%, followed by industry (-9.46%) and hospitality (-5.61%).
Employment in Southern Tenerife
All municipalities in southern Tenerife saw their unemployment rates drop by more than 4% in 2024, except for Arico, Santiago del Teide, and Vilaflor, where slight increases were recorded.
According to the Canary Islands Employment Observatory, one-third of employment contracts signed in December were in the hospitality sector (33.04%), followed by retail (15.54%), public administration and defence (5.72%), building services and gardening activities (4.05%), film-related activities (3.89%), construction (3.18%), industry (3.05%), and agriculture (1.25%). Additionally, 38.09% of contracts registered in 2024 were permanent, a 2.11% increase compared to the previous year.
Alchemy Recruitment UK © Photography
Waiters in Tenerife ©
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