Effects of economic crisis on women in labour market

The current economic crisis is having a profound impact from a gender perspective on the traditional Spanish labour market model, as women are currently assuming a more active role in comparison to their male counterparts. The traditional socioeconomic model in the country is being undermined, with changing economic activity rates, female employment proving to be less vulnerable to the crisis and higher unemployment growth among men.

The 1st May Foundation (Fundación 1º de Mayo) of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras, CCOO) has recently published a report (in Spanish), within the context of International Women’s Day on 8 March, showing some specific effects of the current economic crisis on the Spanish female labour market. The main results of the report, based on the official information provided by the Spanish Labour Force Survey (Encuesta de Población Activa, EPA), are outlined below.

Undermining of traditional model

The traditional Spanish socioeconomic model has been based on two differentiated gender roles, by which men have been usually regarded as the main household breadwinners and women have been involved in a more ‘frictional’ participation in the labour market. This means that during periods of an expanding labour market, women tend to access the labour market, whereas in negative labour market situations women withdraw from paid work to concentrate on unpaid household-related activities. In this way, the labour market participation of women has been always complementary to the main role attributed to men.

However, this traditional model is being undermined by the current economic crisis according to the following three trends.

Changing economic activity rates

Firstly, the Spanish male activity rate experienced for the first time in the last 10 years a small decrease in 2009, from 69.5% in 2008 to 68.6% in 2009. The activity rate is defined as the proportion of active workers (employed and unemployed) in relation to the total population of working age. In contrast, the female activity rate increased from 50.5% to 51.6% in the same time period. Furthermore, the Spanish female activity rate is slightly higher than the average level in the European Union for the first time in the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, the total number of Spanish male active workers decreased by 0.7% in 2009 in comparison to 2008 (from 13.03 million in 2008 to 12.94 million in 2009), whereas the number for women increased by 2.9% (from 9.82 million in 2008 to 10.09 million in 2009). This trend reflects the more proactive role of Spanish women in terms of employment opportunities.

Female employment less vulnerable to recession

Secondly, during the economic crisis, female employment has shown a lower level of vulnerability than male employment. In 2008, when positive gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.2% was recorded, the male employment rate decreased by 2.4 percentage points in comparison to 2007, whereas the female employment rate increased by 0.3 percentage points in the same time period. The employment rate is defined as the proportion of working age adults employed in relation to the total population of working age. Moreover, in 2009 – which was characterised by a sharp decline in GDP growth of 5.1% – the male employment rate decreased by 6.1 percentage points in comparison to the previous year, whereas the female employment rate decreased by only 1.7 percentage points.

Furthermore, total male employment declined by 9.2% in 2009 in comparison to 2008, well above the decrease among women (3.5%). This different gender situation is basically explained by the fact that the economic sectors particularly affected by the economic crisis – primarily, construction and manufacturing – are dominated by men. Women on the other hand are more present in some service activities that have not yet been as badly affected, such as health and social work, personal services and education. However, it is not yet clear what the future trends will be if the economic crisis continues over time and gradually affects all sectors of economic activity. In any case, it is important to emphasise that the Spanish female employment rate (41.7% in 2009) remains considerably lower than the rate for men (55.6%) and is also lower than the EU female employment rate (46.1%) (see figure).

Employment rates 2001–2009, by gender, Spain and EU (%)

Source: 1st May Foundation

Higher unemployment growth among men

Thirdly, and linked to the previous point, unemployment seems to have particularly affected Spanish male workers in comparison to their female counterparts, a situation that clearly departs from traditional Spanish labour market patterns in the last years. In 2009, there were 1.9 million unemployed women, which represents 23.1% more than in the previous year, whereas unemployed men amounted to two million, 27.7% more than in the previous year.

Therefore, it is possible to identify a new trend in the Spanish labour market whereby women are more resilient to the effects of the current economic crisis in terms of employment and unemployment figures. Moreover, women are showing significant interest in actively participating in the labour market, which is reflected in the evolution of economic activity rates. The current context, which is characterised by a decrease in the ‘main’ (male) income and an increasing family debt level – together with lower employment expectations among Spanish men – implies that Spanish women have a greater incentive to participate in the current labour market.

Commentary

The Spanish labour market is experiencing a silent but important qualitative change in the last two years as a consequence of the current economic crisis, characterised by an increasing presence of women in the labour market and a decreasing presence of men. This situation may also have negative consequences, however, since more women might also be involved in household-related work as it is not clear that most of their male counterparts are assuming a more active role in household activities. Furthermore, the quality of the jobs assumed by women is not certain, since a significant share of women might be tempted to assume any job irrespective of the associated working conditions.

Iñigo Isusi, IKEI