Editing Economy of Spain (section)

====Employment crisis====
[[File:Torres de la Casería.jpg|thumb|[[Torres de la Casería de Ossio]] apartment buildings in [[San Fernando, Cádiz|San Fernando]] completed in 2007. The collapse of the Spanish construction boom was a major contributor to the record unemployment.<ref name=BBC2009joblessrate>{{Citation
 | publication-date = 24 April 2009 | access-date = 2 May 2009
 | title = Spain's jobless rate soars to 17%
 | periodical = BBC America | series = Business | publisher = BBC News
 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8016364.stm
 | date=24 April 2009}}</ref>]]

After having completed large improvements over the second half of the 1990s and during the 2000s, Spain attained in 2007 its record low unemployment rate, at about 8%,<ref name="EPA El País">{{cite news| url=http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/01/28/media/1453977771_957921.html?rel=mas |work= El País | title= EPA: Evolución del mercado laboral en España | date=28 January 2016}}</ref> with some regions on the brink of [[full employment]]. Then Spain suffered a severe setback from October 2008, when it saw its unemployment rate surge. Between October 2007 – October 2008 the surge exceeded that of past economic crises, including 1993. In particular, during October 2008, Spain suffered its worst unemployment rise ever recorded.<ref name=ElPais20081104>{{Citation
 | last = Agencias | date = 4 November 2008 | access-date = 2 May 2009
 | title = La recesión económica provoca en octubre la mayor subida del paro de la historia
 | periodical = El País | series = Internacional | place = Madrid | language = es
 | url = http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/recesion/economica/provoca/octubre/mayor/subida/paro/historia/elpepuint/20081104elpepuint_8/Tes
}}</ref><ref>{{Citation
 | date = 4 December 2008 | access-date = 2 May 2009
 | title = Builders' nightmare | newspaper = The Economist | series = Europe | place = Madrid
 | url = https://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12725415
}}</ref>
Even though the sheer size of Spain's underground economy masked the real situation, employment has been a long term weakness of the economy. By 2014 the [[structural unemployment]] rate was estimated at 18%.<ref name="economist.com">{{cite news| url=https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21610330-labour-market-recovering-last-it-needs-further-reform-iberian-dawn | newspaper=The Economist | title=Iberian_Dawn | date=2 August 2014}}</ref>
By July 2009, Spain had shed 1.2 million jobs in one year.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14006703 | newspaper=The Economist | title=Two-tier flexibility | date=9 July 2009}}</ref> The oversized building and housing related industries were contributing greatly to the rising unemployment.<ref name="BBC2009joblessrate"/> From 2009 thousands of established immigrants began to leave, although some did maintain residency due to poor conditions in their country of origin.<ref name="González2009">{{Citation | last = González | first = Sara | date = 1 May 2009 | access-date = 14 May 2009 | title = 300.000 inmigrantes han vuelto a su país por culpa del paro | language = es | periodical = El Periódico de Catalunya | series = Sociedad | place = Barcelona | publisher = Grupo Zeta | url = http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=46&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=608508&idseccio_PK=1021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100516235135/http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=46&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=608508&idseccio_PK=1021 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 16 May 2010}}</ref> In all, by early 2013 Spain reached an unprecedented unemployment record at about 27%.<ref name="EPA El País"/>

In 2012 a radical labor reform made for a more [[labour market flexibility|flexible labor market]], facilitating layoffs with a view to enhancing business confidence.<ref name=cincodias>{{Cite web|url=http://cincodias.com/cincodias/2014/07/23/economia/1406138437_308198.html|title=EPA: El paro cae al 24,47% con el primer aumento anual de ocupación desde 2008|date=24 July 2014}}</ref>

===== Youth =====
During the early 1990s, Spain experienced economic crisis as a result of a Europe-wide economic episode that led to a rise in unemployment. Many young adults found themselves trapped in a cycle of temporary jobs, which resulted in the creation of a secondary class of workers through reduced wages, job stability and advancement opportunities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=García-Pérez|first1=J. Ignacio|last2=Muñoz-Bullón|first2=Fernando|date=2011-03-01|title=Transitions into Permanent Employment in Spain: An Empirical Analysis for Young Workers|journal=British Journal of Industrial Relations|language=en|volume=49|issue=1|pages=103–143|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8543.2009.00750.x|issn=1467-8543|citeseerx=10.1.1.597.6996|s2cid=154392095}}</ref> As a result, many Spaniards, predominantly unmarried young adults, emigrated to pursue job opportunities and raise their quality of life,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Domínguez-Mujica|first1=Josefina|last2=Guerra-Talavera|first2=Raquel|last3=Parreño-Castellano|first3=Juan Manuel|date=2014-12-01|title=Migration at a Time of Global Economic Crisis: The Situation in Spain|journal=International Migration|language=en|volume=52|issue=6|pages=113–127|doi=10.1111/imig.12023|issn=1468-2435}}</ref> which left only a small amount of young adults living below the poverty line.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ayllón|first=Sara|date=2015-12-01|title=Youth Poverty, Employment, and Leaving the Parental Home in Europe|journal=Review of Income and Wealth|language=en|volume=61|issue=4|pages=651–676|doi=10.1111/roiw.12122|s2cid=153673821|issn=1475-4991}}</ref> Spain experienced another economic crisis during the 2000s, which also prompted a rise in emigration to neighboring countries with more job stability and better economic standing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ahn|first1=Namkee|last2=De La Rica|first2=Sara|last3=Ugidos|first3=Arantza|date=1999-08-01|title=Willingness to Move for Work and Unemployment Duration in Spain|journal=Economica|language=en|volume=66|issue=263|pages=335–357|doi=10.1111/1468-0335.00174|issn=1468-0335|url=https://www.cemfi.es/ftp/wp/9801.pdf}}</ref>

Youth unemployment remains a concern, prompting suggestions of labor market programs and job-search assistance like matching youth skills with businesses. This would improve Spain's weakened youth labor market, and their school to work transition, as young people have found it difficult to find long-term employment.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/improving-employment-prospects-for-young-workers-in-spain_5k487n7hg08s-en|doi = 10.1787/5k487n7hg08s-en|title = Improving Employment Prospects for Young Workers in Spain|series = OECD Economics Department Working Papers|year = 2013|last1 = Wölfl|first1 = Anita|doi-access = free}}</ref> As of January 2025, the youth unemployment in Spain stands at 24.9%.<ref name=unemployment2024>{{cite web|title=Economically Active Population Survey. Fourth Quarter 2024.|url=https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176918&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735976595|website=INE Instituto Nacional de Estadística |access-date=29 January 2025}}</ref>

=====Employment recovery=====
The labor market reform started a trend of setting successive positive employment records. By Q2 of 2014, the economy had reversed its negative trend and started creating jobs for the first time since 2008.<ref name=cincodias/> The second quarter reversal had been extraordinary; jobs created set an absolute positive record since such quarterly employment statistics began in 1964.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europapress.es/economia/laboral-00346/noticia-economia-epa-paro-registra-caida-record-310400-personas-crean-402400-empleos-mayor-cifra-anos-20140724090006.html|title = El paro registra una caída récord de 310.400 personas y se crean 402.400 empleos, la mayor cifra en 9 años|date = 24 July 2014}}</ref> Labor reform did seem to play an important role; one piece of evidence cited was that Spain had started creating jobs at lower rates of GDP growth than before: in previous cycles, employment rose when growth hit 2%, this time the gain came during a year when GDP had expanded by just 1.2%.<ref name="economist.com"/>

Greater than expected GDP growth paved the way for further decline in unemployment. Since 2014, Spain registered steady annual falls in the official jobless figure. During 2016, unemployment experienced the steepest fall on record.<ref name="FTbiggestdrop"/> By the end of 2016, Spain had recovered 1.7m of the more than 3.5m jobs lost over the recession.<ref name="FTbiggestdrop"/> By Q4 2016 Spanish unemployment had fallen to 19%, the lowest rate in seven years.<ref name="unemployment Q4'16">{{cite news| author=Maria Tadeo| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-26/spain-unemployment-falls-to-seven-year-low-as-rajoy-seeks-budget | work=Bloomberg | title=Spain Unemployment Falls to Seven-Year Low Amid Budget Talks | date=26 January 2017}}</ref> In April 2017 the country recorded its biggest drop in jobless claimants for a single month to date.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/05/04/inenglish/1493884808_621515.html | work=El País | title=Jobs in Spain: Easter hirings bring record monthly drop in unemployment to Spain | date=4 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="May '17 employment">{{cite news| url=http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/06/02/inenglish/1496389957_165086.html | work=El País | title=Working in Spain: Unemployment: Social Security affiliations have best May since 2001 | date=2 June 2017}}</ref> In Q2 of 2017, unemployment fell to 17%, below 4 million for the first time since 2008,<ref>{{cite news| author=María Tadeo| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-27/spanish-unemployment-falls-to-lowest-since-start-of-2009-chart  | work=Bloomberg | title=Spanish Unemployment Falls to Lowest Since Start of 2009 | date=27 July 2017}}</ref> with the country experiencing its steepest quarterly decline in unemployment on record.<ref>{{cite news| author=Antonio Maqueda| url=https://economia.elpais.com/economia/2017/07/27/actualidad/1501137604_444180.html | work=El País | title=EPA: El paro baja de los cuatro millones por primera vez desde comienzos de 2009 | date=27 July 2017| language=es}}</ref> In 2018, at 14.6% the unemployment rate did not exceed the 15% threshold for the first time since 2008 when the crisis began.<ref>{{cite news| author=Manuel V. Gómez| url=https://elpais.com/economia/2018/10/25/actualidad/1540447599_036822.html | work=El País | title=EPA: La tasa de paro baja del 15% por primera vez desde 2008 | date=25 October 2018| language=es}}</ref>

As of 2017, trade unions, left, and center-left parties continued to criticize and wanted labor reform to be revoked, on grounds that it tilted the balance of power too far towards employers.<ref name="FTbiggestdrop">{{cite news| author=Tobias Buck| url=https://www.ft.com/content/f673c81c-d27d-11e6-b06b-680c49b4b4c0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/f673c81c-d27d-11e6-b06b-680c49b4b4c0 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription  | work=Financial Times | title=Drop in Spanish jobless total is biggest on record | date=4 January 2017}}</ref> Most new contracts were temporary.<ref name="May '17 employment"/> In 2019, [[Pedro Sánchez (politician)|Pedro Sánchez]]'s socialist government increased the minimum wage by 22% in an attempt to boost hiring and encourage spending, and increased it further in the labor reform adopted at the end of 2021. Members of the opposition argued this increase, would negatively affect 1.2 million workers due to employers being unable to cover the raise, resulting in higher unemployment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-10/spain-takes-an-economic-gamble-on-an-unprecedented-wage-hike|title=Spain Takes an Economic Gamble on an Unprecedented Wage Hike|access-date=9 February 2019|publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref> Contrary to such opinion, the reforms approved by Sanchez's government resulted in a robust shift towards permanent employment contracts, and led to a 15-year low in unemployment rates at 11.60%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spain: Keeping good momentum |url=https://www.allianz-trade.com/en_global/economic-research/country-reports/Spain.html |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Corporate |language=en}}</ref>