The Valencian Community is the autonomy that has moved the furthest from the unexpected rise in unemployment registered in July in Spain.
It has not only moved away from the slowdown in job creation but also from the drop in affiliates.
It has not been the only one, since eight communities managed to create jobs, but it has been the one that leads the
ranking
of job creation with 2,937 jobs.
The global situation, with the war in Ukraine, the energy bill and inflation, has been the same for everyone.
The waiters and teachers could be the key to an explanation of the "Valencian island" that no one can fully elucidate.
Still, unemployment has only risen in construction.
The Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, pointed to the possibility of an advance to June of hiring in the services sector to try to explain why the hotel industry had not pulled the July data bandwagon like other years.
In the state rate, the more than 115,000 members of the education sector who go on strike in many communities when the summer period begins also stand out.
In the case of the Valencian Community, contracting in the service sector already led the drop in unemployment in June and did so again in July, when tourism registered occupancy data above expectations and even exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to the hotel management Hosbec;
and interim teachers, not only in public education but also in concerted education, do not go on strike in the summer,
The professor of Valencian Economics at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Elies Seguí, is optimistic.
"You have to look at the trends and wait for the next few months, but it is true that the interannual rate places the Valencian Community among those with the greatest reduction in unemployment (close to 20%)", he affirms.
"If the Valencian economy continues to break state patterns, which tend to be worse in the second half of the year, it will be a differential fact", he assures.
Both the Valencian Government and the unions are cautious.
The General Director of Employment, Enric Nomdedéu, also considers that the outlook must be viewed from an annual perspective.
"It's not to throw rockets but we're doing well," he says about data that place the Valencian Community more than five points above the state average.
Nomdedéu believes that the figures break the foundations of the liberal economy: "The minimum wage has been raised and employment continues to be created, the labor reform was approved and employment continues to be created."
In any case, he highlights the difficulties in predicting the economy and highlights the fact that countries like the United States have entered a recession but have created nine million jobs.
Both Nomdedéu and the majority unions, CC OO and UGT, underline the increase in permanent contracts,
The Secretary of Employment of CC OO-PV, Juan Carlos Gallart, is not optimistic due to the type of contracts and the global situation and points out that, in the Valencian case, uncertainty has been able to cause some hotel contracts to be given also in July and come to light now that it has been seen that the tourist forecasts are good.
The Secretary for Training and Employment of the UGT-PV, Pilar Mora, reports that, despite the loss of purchasing power, stability continues to increase.
And they all highlight the fact that unemployment has fallen not only in services but also in agriculture and industry, a sector hit by the energy crisis.
"That this data is positive, it is noteworthy", says Professor Seguí.