Southern Gran Canaria is the economic capital of the Canary Islands, although it faces pressure from Las Palmas, which has been left behind for years but still controls the political power. The entire southern area of Gran Canaria has an astonishing labor force-to-employment ratio. 101,27% of people between the ages of 16 and 64 are registered with Social Security. More workers than people of working age. How is this possible? Because Maspalomas not only provides work for its residents, it also provides work for thousands who come from other municipalities or countries.
The data supports this: 28,5% of the resident population is foreign, of whom the majority comes from Europe (71%), with a strong presence of citizens from the European Union (60,38%). The economic engine never stops. The local economy revolves around services. More than 2.284 companies operate in the commerce, transportation, and hospitality sectors. Added to this are: 436 restaurants, 638 bars and cafes, 353 non-hotel accommodations, 72 hotels and motels, and 90 agencies operating private tourist apartments. There are more Social Security affiliates than there are inhabitants of La Gomera and El Hierro combined: 39.322.
This economic muscle requires hands, and it finds them. It also generates unemployment, yes, but it's contained: 3.266 people are registered as unemployed, 84,6% of whom come from the service sector. The majority (64%) are over 44, and only 6% are under 25, revealing a youthful population that is either working or has left the workforce.
San Bartolomé de Tirajana has achieved what few island municipalities have: maintaining a very high level of formal employment amidst a volatile tourism ecosystem. All this in an environment where birth rates (4,61‰) are more typical of aging countries, and where the longevity index (36,97) is approaching regional lows. The dependency rate for older adults (25,68) is now on par with the rest of the Canary Islands, and the labor force renewal rate (62,74) is well below the regional average (75,83). But it doesn't seem to matter. Maspalomas remains a working machine.
The south pulls the south. While the future of tourism, rising prices, and the challenges of housing are debated, Maspalomas is working. With its 1.845 shops, 23 pharmacies, 14 gas stations, and 24 financial institutions; but zero movie theaters. No need for a film: the action is real. And while La Gomera and El Hierro look to the sky to harvest clouds, in southern Gran Canaria the work never stops. Because here, under the sun, every member is a story. Every number, a will. And every bar open at seven in the morning, a reminder that this municipality doesn't give up. Not even on rest.
