Interactive map: Malaga and Marbella head job creation in the province

A huge 70% of the employment growth that has occurred in Malaga province in 2022 has taken place in Malaga city and Marbella.

Moving to another municipality every day to work is normal for four out of ten workers in Malaga province. Approximately 236,000 people carry out their profession in a different locality to the one where they live and more than 24,000 people move to another province to work. In contrast, 397,000 employees have their domicile and their employment within the same municipal area.

Of the 25,000 increase in workers between June 2022 and June 2023 in Malaga province, 12,000 work in Malaga and 4,000, in Marbella. The other localities that have generated the most job opportunities are, in this order, Mijas (about 1,500), Torremolinos (1,359), and Estepona (1,310).

Great differences remain between coastal and inland areas. Of the 103 inland municipalities in Malaga province, only 51 have seen increased employment in the last year. Employment in Árchez and Totalán has remained the same, while in 50 other municipalities there has been a decrease. The municipality that has lost the most workers is Antequera (165), followed by Casarabonela (117) and Archidona (70).

The coastal/inland divergences are related to the activities that have performed better and worse in terms of employment. The only sector that has lost affiliates in the last year is agriculture: 2,352. This explains the fall in employment suffered by many small inland municipalities whose main source of employment is in the countryside.

On the other hand, the sector with the highest growth in enrolment in the province is the hotel and catering industry (+6,319), reaching an all-time high. Malaga city and the large towns of the western Costa del Sol account for the vast majority of these jobs, as do those in other booming employment activities, such as construction (+4,040), commerce (+3,192) and transport and logistics (+2,472). Education gained 1,961 workers.

Numbers of self-employed have risen by 2,939 in the province last year. Across Malaga province 19% of the labour market is self-employed but this is an average which, once again, hides large territorial differences. In Istán and Comares, 44% of workers are self-employed. Ojén, Frigiliana and Comares also have figues above 40%.