Spain has a persistently high unemployment rate, higher than the European Union average. As of December 2023, the unemployment rate in Spain stood at 12.6%, which is equivalent to more than 3 million unemployed people.

The unemployment rates in Spain have varied over the years, suffering different variations derived from the economic consequences of the moment, such that in the 70s the unemployment rate in Spain was around 4% of the population of working age, reaching 22% in 1985 due to the economic crisis of the moment, beginning a constant decline that reached 8% in 2007.

With the deep crisis that occurred in the period 2008-2010, the unemployment rate in Spain reached 26%, becoming the highest reached so far. Starting in 2011, the unemployment rate in Spain began a slow de-escalation, which in recent years has been impossible to drop below 10%, severely affecting young people with a rate that exceeds 20% and mainly those over 50 years of age.

However, this is not a specific or temporary event due to specific or determined causes, the high unemployment rate in Spain is a structural problem that has been occurring in recent years, reaching more than 6 million citizens in this situation in 2012, currently standing at 16% with more than two and a half million unemployed, and mainly affecting the communities of Andalusia, Extremadura and the Canary Islands.

The causes of unemployment in Spain are complex and varied

In a market economy characterized by the high weight of the services sector, low productivity in some sectors, and with legislation that hinders the internal flexibility of companies and their adaptation to economic changes, with mismatches between the skills of workers and the demands of the labor market, the effects of the recent economic crises have had a devastating effect on the Spanish labor market.

The large number of existing companies in Spain, many of them micro-SMEs, with less than 10 employees, the strong orientation towards the service sector, mainly related to the important representation of tourist activities in the country’s GDP, and the lack of a important industrial productive fabric, together with the seasonality of the tourism sector and the lack of highly qualified professionals in certain productive sectors, constitute the main problems that hinder the Spanish labor market.

Sectors such as construction or hospitality are not very resistant to variations in economic situations and job destruction, since, being sectors made up of a large number of small companies, they generate insufficient benefits to promote reinvestment and the generation of wealth and employment, being companies whose working hours discourage workers and also reduce productivity.

If we also value the existence of an underground labor market, with a large number of professionals who, despite working, do not appear in the statistics, as they do so outside the legal system and whose activities represent 18% of the GDP.

Thus, despite the fact that temporary employment is currently at a minimum, the increase in employment in the industrial sector, the unemployment rate in Spain is double the European average, surpassing countries such as Greece, France or Portugal.

The consequences of unemployment

The situation of unemployment can generate serious problems for people, leading to situations of social exclusion, marginalization and poverty. Likewise, unemployment affects mental health by generating loss of self-esteem, stress, anxiety and even depression.

The lack of economic support and job insecurity could contribute to social isolation and demoralization, producing the deterioration of social well-being and the appearance of social inequalities, the latter affecting groups such as young people, women, people with disabilities and immigrants due to the high unemployment rates that affect them.

Similarly, the situation of unemployment produces a reduction in consumption derived from the decrease in the income of the unemployed, which in turn has a negative impact on private consumption and, therefore, affects the economic growth. Likewise, pressure on social services increases, since increasing poverty rates and the need for social assistance generates a greater burden on public services.

Some measures to combat unemployment

The implementation of reforms on the regulations that regulate the labor market has always been one of the first measures adopted by the latest governments in search of producing effects that would contribute to the reduction of unemployment in Spain. In this context, reforms have been carried out aimed at making employment contracts more flexible and reducing administrative burdens for companies.

Likewise, the implementation of training programs has increased to improve the skills of workers and the conditions for the creation of new companies and self-employed workers have improved, favoring entrepreneurship.

However, unemployment continues to be a major problem in Spain, which is why it is necessary to take additional measures to improve education and training to adapt the skills of workers to the needs of the market. labor, promote the creation of quality, stable and well-paid jobs, through the creation of successful companies in industrial, scientific and technological markets, as well as take measures to reduce inequality and guarantee that all citizens have the same opportunities to access a job.

Fiscal measures aimed at job creation such as tax reductions associated with job creation, bonuses for the creation of long-term jobs, youth employment programs, tax exemptions associated with worker training, or hiring aid of people with disabilities or long-term unemployed, can also be effective measures to promote job creation.

It is also necessary to take measures aimed at reducing administrative burdens for hiring workers, adapting the working day to the needs of workers and companies, promoting family conciliation, and implementing scholarships and training courses to improve workers’ skills and motivate or diversify their professional orientation, as well as designing and implementing effective and truly functional placement agencies and procedures, through local employment development agencies that in turn can serve as business incubators and offer financing programs for entrepreneurs and the self-employed.

The fight against unemployment is a complex challenge that requires a joint effort from the government, companies and social agents, and for which it is necessary and fundamental to promote an economic environment favorable to investment and business creation. Collaboration between the public, private and social sectors is key to the development of comprehensive strategies that promote quality employment and social inclusion.

In addition to the above, it is really necessary to put an end to the underground economy and the work activities carried out outside the system, to do so it is necessary to look for formulas that prevent the creation of precarious jobs, preventing The need for income could push the unemployed to accept jobs with low salaries or excessive hours, without a contract and lacking any type of official protection. Likewise, it is important to motivate the effective search for employment through some type of measures.