In 2018, 22.3 M employment contracts were signed in Spain. This record number marks a sixth year of sustained increases, as well as a significant rise over the 17.8 M contracts signed in 2007. Despite the fact that 21% more contracts were signed compared to before the financial crisis, the number of people with Social Security stood at 19 M at the end of 2018, a level very similar to that of 2007 (19.4 million). Analysts at Caixabank Research explains next what is the reason for this contrast.

William Chislett | Spain has moved from a labour market characterised during the Franco regime by heavy state intervention, no free trade unions, the prohibition of strikes and lock-outs, a low female participation rate and paternalistic legislation to one that is flexible, but marked by consistently high unemployment.

Javier Santacruz Cano via The Conversation | Whether the Spanish economy is capable of returning to the levels of unemployment at the peak of the housing bubble between 2006 and 2007 is the key labour question and the principal concern of political economy.

Spanish labour market hits a new record: less than four million jobless people for the first time since 2008, according to Q2 Labour Force Survey. Figures of unemployment dropped by 340.000 between April and June to 3,914,300 people, therefore reaching a rate of 17.22%. Employment grows by 375,000 new jobs; working population increases to 18.81 millions.

According to the National Statistics Institute, the most normal average annual gross salary is around 16.500 euros. So once this has been paid 14 times a year and taxes and Social Security contributions have been deducted, this ends up as a little over 800 euros net per month. This sort of income will never drive consumption or housing sales and is not adequate for a European economy like Spain’s.