Temporary employment in the Spanish labour market
Published: 8 November 2005
In April, the Unión General de Trabajadores [1] (UGT), one of the two most important trade unions in Spain, published a report on the presence of temporary employment in the Spanish labour market (170Kb pdf; in Spanish) [2]. This report shows the high rate of temporary employment in Spain (particularly in comparison to European standards), as well as the long-term persistence of this type of employment.[1] http://www.ugt.es/ugtpordentro/cronoingles.html[2] http://www.ugt.es/informes/InformeUGTTemporalidad.pdf
The Spanish labour market is characterised by a high level of temporary employment, especially in comparison with the EU average. Women, young people, workers with low educational levels, and those working in particular economic sectors are more likely to have a temporary employment contract.
In April, the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), one of the two most important trade unions in Spain, published a report on the presence of temporary employment in the Spanish labour market (170Kb pdf; in Spanish). This report shows the high rate of temporary employment in Spain (particularly in comparison to European standards), as well as the long-term persistence of this type of employment.
Based on the information provided by the 2004 Spanish Labour Force Survey, 4.7 million people are employed on a temporary basis in Spain, representing 32.45% of the total employed population. In the seven years since 1998, when a special agreement between the social partners for the stability of employment was signed, this rate has only been reduced by 0.6 percentage points.
| Year | Temporary employed people (000s) | Temporary employment rate (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3,541 | 33.02 |
| 1999 | 3,799 | 32.86 |
| 2000 | 3,983 | 32.18 |
| 2001 | 4,168 | 32.17 |
| 2002 | 4,289 | 31.84 |
| 2003 | 4,490 | 31.77 |
| 2004 | 4,777 | 32.45 |
| Total variation | 1,237 | -0.58 |
| Average variation | 177 | -0.08 |
Source: Informe sobre Temporalidad Laboral: El ‘talón de Aquiles’ del mercado de trabajo español, UGT, 2005
The number of temporary employed people increased by 35% in the time period 1998-2004. In 1998, some 3.5 million employees worked on this type of contract, with the figure reaching 4.8 million employees in 2004. This represents an average annual growth rate of 177,000 people.
Temporary employment is more present among particular groups. In 2004, the rate among men was 30.56%, compared with 35.18% for women. This gender gap has widened over the seven-year time period.
However, age seems to be the more discriminating factor. The highest temporary employment rates can be found among the youngest groups: the 16-19 year old group (82.57%), followed by the 20-24 and the 25-29 age groups (62.12% and 44.42%, respectively). Conversely, the 50-59 and 60 age groups show the lowest presence of temporary employment (14.84% and 10.87%, respectively).
Comparing the figures for 1998 and 2004, a small decrease can be found in the presence of temporary employment among the youngest age groups, although this is compensated for by an increase among the older age groups.
| Age groups | 1998 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|
| 16-19 years old | 86.38 | 82.57 |
| 20-24 years old | 69.78 | 62.12 |
| 25-29 years old | 47.93 | 44.42 |
| Less than 30 years old | 59.20 | 53.24 |
| 30-39 years old | 28.87 | 31.16 |
| 40-49 years old | 18.12 | 22.40 |
| 50-59 years old | 14.69 | 14.84 |
| 60 years old | 12.36 | 10.87 |
| More than 30 years old | 21.91 | 24.22 |
| Total | 33.02 | 32.44 |
Source: Informe sobre Temporalidad Laboral: El ‘talón de Aquiles’ del mercado de trabajo español, UGT, 2005
Rates by economic sector
Temporary employment is also strongly related to economic sector. In 2004, five economic sectors exceeded the Spanish average in terms of employing people on a temporary basis. These sectors are agriculture and cattle raising (with a rate of 64.4%), construction (58.1%), domestic services (57.8%), hotels and restaurants (39.1%), and personal service activities (33.8%). The lowest rates can be found in the public administration (19.1%), energy (18.1%) and financial service (12.7%) sectors.
Interestingly, temporary employment also shows a strong gender bias when sector considerations are taken into account. Around 53% of temporary employed men can be found in the construction and manufacturing sectors, whereas temporary employed women are particularly present in four sectors: domestic services, commerce, social services, and hotels and restaurants. Temporary employment has increased notably in sectors such as domestic services and the public administration sector, as well as in other sectors closely related to the public sector, such as education or health services.
Education and occupation influences
Temporary employment seems to depend on both the employee’s educational level and occupational group. A quarter (24.7%) of Spanish employees with third level educational attainment hold a temporary work contract, but this rate is even higher among people with secondary and, especially, only primary educational levels (29.3% and 35.6%, respectively). Meanwhile, directors/managers and technicians/professionals have the lowest presence of temporary employment (7% and 20.1%), well below the percentages corresponding to non-qualified workers (50.6%).
Regional variation
Temporary employment shows a remarkable geographical bias, in that it is particularly present in the Spanish regions (autonomous communities) with lower income per capita. Thus, the highest temporary employment rates in 2004 can be found in Andalusia (44.5%), Extremadura (41.8%), Murcia (39.6%) and the Canary Islands (39.4%), whereas the lowest rates are in Madrid (22%) and Catalonia (21.3%). Nevertheless, all of the Spanish regions have temporary employment rates higher than the EU average.
In this respect, the Spanish temporary employment rate is nearly three times higher than the EU average (32.5%, compared with 12.8% in the EU15 and EU25). By country, Poland (21.9%), Portugal (19.9%) and Slovenia (17.8%) also show relatively high temporary employment rates, although these remain much lower than the Spanish rate. A time perspective reveals that these significant differences have been maintained over the years. Moreover, this high presence of temporary employment in Spain persists, irrespective of sex, age or sector considerations, in a comparison with the EU average.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2005), Temporary employment in the Spanish labour market, article.
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