Unemployment in Spain
This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. (October 2017) |
Unemployment rates in Spain vary across different regions of the country, but they tend to be higher when compared to other Western European countries.
Unemployment rates in Spain rose sharply during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Unemployment was at 8% between 2006 and 2007. Starting in 2008,
Introduction
Spain has one of the highest unemployment rates compared to other OECD countries.[1] The Q2 2021 unemployment rate was 15.3% of labor force.[2] There has been an upward trend since the 1990s, and this trend has historic roots.[3] Unemployment began rising in Francoist Spain during the 1970s.[4] During the Francoist Spain, trade union activism was prohibited and social security benefits of the modern welfare state were lacking. In 1972, 2.7 million jobs in agriculture were replaced by 1.1 million jobs in the public sector, further increasing unemployment.[5] Although unemployment is a problem in other OECD countries such as Italy and Turkey, data shows that the extent of increase and the persistence is much larger in Spain.[6]
Causes
Spain suffers a high level of structural unemployment. Since the economic and financial crisis of the 1980s, unemployment has never dipped below 8%. One leading cause is an economy based mostly on tourism and building sectors, as well as lack of industry. The most industrialized region is Basque Country (where industry is around 20–25% of its GDP); its unemployment rate is 2.5 times lower than those of Andalusia and the Canary Islands (where industry is only 5–10% of their respective GDP). In the last thirty years, the Spanish unemployment rate has hovered around double the average of developed countries, in times of growth and in times of crisis. From the start of the crisis of the 1990s, unemployment fell from 3.6 million to two million, however that figure stagnated throughout the stable times to the present crisis.
Consequences
Socio-economic consequences
Unemployment reduces household income which in turn diminishes domestic consumption and quality of life. The mental health of the unemployed and their families deteriorates. The emancipation period is extended and consequently the birth rate decreases as it is difficult to start a family with minimal economic guarantees. Social exclusion is triggered, evictions increase, and families start to default on bills for basic utilities such as water, electricity and gas, leading to energy poverty.
Unemployment and inclusion of people with disabilities
There are efforts in Spain to integrate
Unemployment rate
# | Autonomous community |
Unemployment rate (Q4 2023) |
---|---|---|
1 | Ceuta | 28.35 |
2 | Melilla | 27.42 |
3 | Andalusia | 17.60 |
4 | Extremadura | 16.29 |
5 | Canary Islands | 16.19 |
6 | Valencian Community Valencia | 12.65 |
7 | Castilla–La Mancha | 12.45 |
8 | Asturias | 11.81 |
9 | Balearic Islands | 11.38 |
10 | Region of Murcia | 11.32 |
11 | Madrid | 9.72 |
12 | La Rioja | 9.52 |
13 | Castile and León | 9.50 |
14 | Navarre | 9.32 |
15 | Galicia | 9.15 |
16 | Catalonia | 8.97 |
17 | Aragon | 7.85 |
18 | Cantabria | 7.48 |
19 | Basque Country | 6.33 |
Source: Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA) |
Unemployment rates are obtained through a procedure known as the Economically Active Population Survey. It is taken every three months. The survey divides the population of 16 years or older into four groups:
- Occupied people: Those who have carried out paid work, as well as those that have jobs but are absent because of illness, strikes or holiday.
- Unemployed: are the people that are not occupied, but that they have sought work actively or are waiting to return to work. More exactly, 1) a person is unemployed if he/she is not working and has made specific efforts to find employ during the last four weeks; 2) has been suspended from employment and is waiting to be called new or 3) is waiting to occupy a job the following month.
- Inactive: This category includes the percentage of adult population that is studying, does household chores, is retired, is too sick to work or is simply not looking for work.
- Active Population: includes persons who are both employed and the unemployed.
The unemployment rate is calculated as the number of unemployed workers divided into the active population, and is expressed as a percentage. In other words, it is not a proportion between the total of the unemployed people and the total population, but economically active people.
Women in the economy
In Francoist Spain, women found themselves living under a conservative gender ideology, where they were viewed as being consumers and producers of the market economy.
The period of transition to democracy carved the way for the reemergence of women in social and economic participation. A revival of sorts for women took initiative in the late 1970s, with the re-emergence of legality in the social atmosphere of Spain; in particular to the restoration of free and equal access to work and right to hire.[25] With women being able to return to the workplace, a significant shift took place in relation to the family life. Domestic life for women was shifting away from normality and into career pursuits. During La Transicion, participation rates in the labor force steadily grew due to structural shifts in education, and birth rates decreased which caused an increased rate in 1975 of 30.20, followed by 34.71 in 1982, and 41.20 in 1986.[26] In addition to the progression of women in the workforce, the elimination of Franco’s “Fuero del Trabajo” in 1938, which enforced the replacement of women workers with men, serves as a reminder of how far woman have come in terms of women’s active role in the economic development of Spain.[27] Although progress has been made, it is still from being considered a pure gender equal state. A wage gap exists in Spain, where in 2005, women residing in Spain earned 72 percent less than men did.[28]
Due to legislation better serving opportunities for women, this once marginalized group has seen progress within the country of Spain, but not to the extent of full equality. On March 8, 2018, Spain underwent a 24-hour strike on
See also
- 2008–2014 Spanish real estate crisis
- Unemployment
- Financial crisis of 2007–08
- Spanish property bubble
- Eviction
- Youth unemployment in Spain
References
This article was adapted from the equivalent Spanish-language Wikipedia article on April 20, 2013.
- ^ "Unemployment Rate". OECD Data.
- ^ "Unemployment Rate". OECD Data.
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- ^ "Unemployment procedures and benefits in Spain". EURAXESS Spain. 28 February 2017.
- ^ "Spain 2017/2018". Amnesty International. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ "Spain - SOCIAL VALUES AND ATTITUDES". countrystudies.us.
- ^ "Spain 2017/2018". Amnesty International. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ "Spain: Agreement to reduce temporary employment in public administration | Eurofound". www.eurofound.europa.eu. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ Perez-Conesa & Romeo (Sep 20, 2017). "Taylor & Francis Online". The International Journal of Human Resource Management.
- ^ Perez-Conesa & Romeo (Sep 20, 2017). "Taylor & Francis Online". The International Journal of Human Resource Management.
- ^ "A review of the situation of disabled people and the welfare system in Spain" (PDF). TRAVORS. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ "A review of the situation of disabled people and the welfare system in Spain" (PDF). TRAVORS. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ "A review of the situation of disabled people and the welfare system in Spain" (PDF). TRAVORS. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ "A review of the situation of disabled people and the welfare system in Spain" (PDF). TRAVORS. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ "A review of the situation of disabled people and the welfare system in Spain" (PDF). TRAVORS. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ Perez-Conesa & Romeo (Sep 20, 2017). "Taylor & Francis Online". The International Journal of Human Resource Management.
- ^ "A review of the situation of disabled people and the welfare system in Spain" (PDF). TRAVORS. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
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- ^ A. Sponsler, Lucy (1982). "The Status of Married Women Under the Legal System of Spain". 5. 42 (Louisiana Law Review): 1600–1628. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- ^ Pardell, Agnès. "SPAIN : WOMEN AND POLITICS in Spain". www.helsinki.fi. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ Pardell, Agnès. "SPAIN : WOMEN AND POLITICS in Spain". www.helsinki.fi. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ Yerevan, Armenia (June 10, 2014). "Women, Leadership and Society" (PDF). Women, Transition and Social Changes. The Case of Spain, 1976-1986: 1–11. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ A. García Fernández del Viso, José. "Conquistas sociales del Fuero del Trabajo". Fundacion Nacional Francisco Franco. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ Philips, Kristi (2010). "Women's labor force participation in Spain: An analysis from dictatorship to democracy". UNI Scholar Works (Honors Program Theses. 86): 2–38. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ Sweeney, Sean. "Spanish unions strike, women in multiple cities hold protests for International Women's Day | The Knife Media". The Knife Media. The Knife Media. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta; Minder, Raphael; Joseph, Yonette (8 March 2018). "International Women's Day 2018: Beyond #MeToo, With Pride, Protests and Pressure". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ "Gender pay gap statistics - Statistics Explained". ec.europa.eu. Eurostat. Retrieved 3 May 2018.