Not everyone is feeling Spain's jobs boom as in-work poverty remains high
Record employment masks deep inequalities, with women, young people and migrants still struggling to make ends meet
Spain’s jobs market may be hitting record highs, but the reality for many workers tells a more complicated story.As previously reported, concerns about the quality of employment have been rising, even as the headline figures improve. Now, new data reinforces that message, showing that the benefits of job growth are not being felt equally across the country.
There are currently 22,463,300 people in work in Spain, bringing unemployment down to 9.93%, the lowest level since the 2008 crisis. Permanent contracts have also increased significantly since the 2021 labour reform, with 16 million workers now in stable employment.
But behind those figures lies a more uneven picture.
A growing problem beneath the surface
Despite record employment, 11.6% of workers in Spain are at risk of poverty. That makes Spain the third worst country in Europe for in-work poverty, behind Luxembourg and Bulgaria, and well above the EU average of 8.2%.
According to the latest FOESSA Report 2025, job insecurity affects 47.5% of the workforce, around 11.5 million people. This includes not only those earning below the poverty line, but also workers with unstable conditions or insufficient income.
Sociologist Daniel Rodríguez, one of the report’s authors, points to ongoing weaknesses in the system. “Above all, the involuntary part-time nature of contracts,” he says, remains a key issue despite the reduction in temporary work.
Who is being left behind?
The data shows that some groups are far more exposed than others:
- Women are more likely to work part-time, making up 76.3% of these contracts. Around 20.5% of part-time workers are considered poor. Many cite caring responsibilities as a barrier, with 12% of women saying they cannot increase their hours due to housework, compared to just 4% of men. Female unemployment also remains higher at 11.24%, versus 8.76% for men.
- Young people face what experts call a “scarring effect”. Entering the labour market on lower wages can impact earnings for decades. “They are entering the labour market with lower salaries than previous generations,” Rodríguez explains. This insecurity is also affecting mental health, with 40.6% of young people linking physical or psychological problems to economic instability.
- Foreign workers continue to face higher unemployment, standing at 15.79% at the end of 2024. Many are forced to accept poor conditions. “They have to take whatever work comes their way, regardless of whether the conditions are decent or not,” Rodríguez says.
Wages failing to keep up
Low pay is another major factor. In 2022, 18.8% of workers earned below the threshold identified by researchers.
While wages have risen slightly in recent years, they have not kept pace with inflation. In real terms, salaries are still 4.2% lower than they were in early 2021.
As Rodríguez puts it, “When compared to the cost of living, these increases have been very small.”
A recovery that isn’t reaching everyone
The picture that emerges is one of a labour market that is improving on paper, but still leaving many behind.
Experts are increasingly calling for a broader approach that links employment policies with housing and social support.
As Víctor García from the European Anti-Poverty Network in Spain explains, “It is important that active employment policies target the groups of people facing the greatest difficulties.”
For now, Spain’s employment boom continues. But for a significant share of workers, the reality is far less secure than the headline figures suggest.
Image: Israel Andrade/Unsplash
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