Asturias distributes 14.4 million in local employment plans

The Public Employment Service of the Principality of Asturias (SEPEPA) has resolved to grant 14,433,000 euros to 74 Asturian city councils to finance employment plans within the framework of integrated activation itineraries at the local level, corresponding to the 2026 Call. The decision, adopted by resolution on August 18, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) no. 168, of August 31, 2026, with the reference code 2026-07057.

The amount is divided equally between the 2026 and 2027 annual installments, with 7,216,500 euros per fiscal year, charged to the budget application 85.01.322A.761.000 and under the code PEP 2026/000131. The grants may be co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus at 60%, and the remainder by the Sectoral Conference on Employment and Labor Affairs (SEPE) through SEPEPA itself.

Regulatory framework and processing

The call is based on the regulatory bases approved by resolution on May 22, 2025 (BOPA no. 112, of June 12, 2025) of the Department of Science, Industry and Employment, and on the call resolution PA/850529/2025/1788, of June 9, 2026, an extract of which was published in the BOPA no. 116, of June 18, 2026.

• Following the deadline on July 2, 2026, 76 of the 78 city councils of the Principality submitted applications.
• Two of them, those of Lena and Nava, were inadmissible as they were submitted after the deadline.
• The 74 admitted applications totaled 16,775,169.19 euros, therefore distribution criteria were applied to adjust the expenditure to the available credit.
• The Evaluation Commission met on August 7, 2026.

Priority hiring groups

The annex of the resolution sets the minimum number of contracts that each city council must formalize with people from priority groups, without a single candidate being able to be counted in two groups at once:

• People over 45 years old, with priority for those over 52, at a percentage of 50% of the quotient resulting from dividing the grant by the average amount.
• Recipients of the Basic Social Salary (SSB) or the Minimum Vital Income (IMV), at 30% of said quotient.

In total, the city councils must hire at least 181 people over 45 years old and 111 recipients of SSB or IMV. The highest amounts correspond to Gijón (4,166,000 euros; 79 and 48 contracts), Langreo (1,195,343 euros; 23 and 14), Oviedo (959,920 euros; 19 and 11), Mieres (736,013 euros; 14 and 9), San Martín del Rey Aurelio (556,500 euros; 11 and 7) and Corvera de Asturias (507,191 euros; 10 and 6).

Conditions and deadlines

The grants finance the wage costs of temporary contracts for long-term unemployed persons or those in a situation or risk of social exclusion, accrued between the notification of the resolution and December 30, 2027, provided that at least one hire begins before April 1, 2027. Payment is made in two advances, and the justification must be submitted no later than March 3, 2028. Beneficiaries are exempt from providing additional guarantees.

The resolution does not exhaust administrative remedies; therefore, an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the Regional Ministry of Science, Industry, and Employment within one month of its notification.

With this injection of funds, the Principality reinforces local hiring throughout Asturias, with special attention to older groups and those receiving minimum income, within a context of European and state co-financing that multiplies the reach of municipal employment plans.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias, no. 168, of August 31, 2026, section I (Other Provisions), page 1 (official reference: 2026-07057).