Prospects for a Job-Rich Recovery Among Young Workers in Spain

Spain can be seen as an “extreme example” of labour market dualisation in comparative perspective, even among other South European countries. Spanish labour market dualism is based on age, in the sense that the outsider segment of labour market is mainly occupied by young people. The economic crisis has intensified both dualism and its “biographical” profile. The Spanish case features two outstanding and specific traits. Firstly, Spanish youth have followed a ‘temporary’ pattern of incorporation into the labour market, this meaning that spells of employment/unemployment occur for some years before achieving stable employment. Such pattern has prevailed for thirty years and it has not been modified during the crisis. Secondly, the analysis of the evolution of youth participation in the labour market by educational levels shows two increasing risks: an almost “chronic” pattern of unemployment of low qualified people and frequent over-education of high-qualified ones. The first section of the paper assesses these evolutionary aspects prior and during the economic crisis. The second section is devoted to the analysis of the reform trajectory of labour market institutions and work and welfare policies. Neither the reforms undertaken before the onset of the crisis nor the more recent and deeper reforms adopted henceforth seem to constitute, as yet, a clear exit strategy from the “biographical” dualism pattern. Finally, the third section of the paper includes a discussion on how institutional arrangements foster/hinder a job-rich recovery among young workers in Spain in the short to medium term.