Immigrants more affected by labour market crisis
Published: 16 February 2011
Although immigration [1] is a relatively new phenomenon in Spain, it has grown in importance over the past decade. According to the Active Population Survey (EPA (in Spanish) [2]) conducted by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE [3]), foreign citizens made up 1.2% of the total working population in Spain during the second quarter of 1996. By the second quarter of 2009, this figure had reached 14.1% of the total working population, which translates to 2.8 million immigrant workers.[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/immigration[2] http://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=/t22/e308_mnu&file=inebase&N=&L=0[3] http://www.ine.es/
A recent study by the 1st May Foundation of Spain’s Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) analyses labour integration among immigrants in Spain, using a set of socioeconomic indicators to compare the Spanish native working population with the immigrant working population. Among other conclusions, the report states that the current economic crisis is having worse consequences for immigrant workers than for the population as a whole.
Although immigration is a relatively new phenomenon in Spain, it has grown in importance over the past decade. According to the Active Population Survey (EPA (in Spanish)) conducted by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE), foreign citizens made up 1.2% of the total working population in Spain during the second quarter of 1996. By the second quarter of 2009, this figure had reached 14.1% of the total working population, which translates to 2.8 million immigrant workers.
Against this background, the 1st May Foundation of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) published a report (in Spanish, 1.65Mb PDF) in June 2010 on the labour integration of immigrant population in Spain. The report examines the working conditions of immigrant workers and native workers using a set of key socioeconomic indicators developed for the study.
The report focuses on workers between 16 and 64 years old, and it is based on a comparison of data from two particular years:
2006, which was a period of economic growth;
2009, when the economic crisis was at its height.
Some of the main results are shown in the table and summarised below.
| Indicator | 2006 | 2009 | Variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Activity | 1.16 | 1.09 | -0.07 |
| Employment | 1.10 | 0.92 | -0.18 |
| Temporality | 2.02 | 2.03 | 0.01 |
| Part-time work | 1.35 | 1.46 | 0.11 |
| Unemployment | 1.58 | 1.85 | 0.27 |
| Long-term unemployment | 0.57 | 0.68 | 0.11 |
| Overqualification | 1.25 | 1.13 | -0.12 |
| Overtime (working more than 40 hours per week) | 1.21 | 1.02 | -0.19 |
Note: Each indicator is the result of dividing the rates corresponding to immigrant workers by the figures corresponding to the native Spanish workers. If the indicator is less than 1, it means the figures for immigrant workers are lower than those for Spanish workers (and vice versa for an indicator greater than 1). If the indicator is 1, it means that the rate for both groups is the same.
Source: Medina et al, 2010
The activity indicator shows that the immigrant active population is proportionally higher than the native Spanish active population; a difference that has fallen slightly since 2006.
The employment indicator reveals that the crisis is having worse consequences for the immigrant population; this indicator was positive for immigrants in 2006 but it turned out to be unfavourable in 2009.
The temporality rate (the ratio of temporary versus permanent workers) among immigrants is more than twice the rate registered by native workers. This gap remained virtually stable during the period analysed. However, the indicator measuring part-time work shows that this type of employment status is more common among immigrants and that its importance increased over the period considered.
Unemployment data demonstrate that immigrants are more vulnerable to the economic crisis than native Spanish workers. Thus, the unemployment rate was higher for the immigrant working population than for the native working population in both 2006 and 2009, but the gap was greater for 2009. Conversely, long-term unemployment is more common among native workers, though in 2009 the difference between the two groups was smaller.
The immigrant active population has higher (but declining) overqualification levels, together with lower participation in lifelong learning. In addition, the immigrant population was more prone to working overtime in 2006; in 2009, the figures corresponding to native and immigrant workers were closer.
Commentary
Despite the many improvements in the integration of immigrants into the workforce in Spain in recent years, immigrant workers still face many obstacles. Data show that the economic crisis is having a particularly bad effect on immigrant workers and that the decline in employment levels has affected the immigrant population to a greater extent than native workers. This can be related to the loss of employment in those economic sectors where most immigrants have traditionally been engaged such as construction and tourism/catering. These sectors thrived during the Spanish economic boom, but they have suffered particularly badly during the current crisis.
Reference
Medina, J.A., Poza, A.M., Aguilera, J.C. and Sánchez, F.R., La integración laboral de las personas inmigrantes en España [Employment integration of immigrants in Spain], Madrid, 1st May Foundation, 2010, available online at http://www.1mayo.ccoo.es/nova/files/1018/Informe20.pdf.
Jessica Durán, IKEI Research and Consultancy
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2011), Immigrants more affected by labour market crisis, article.
