Article

Employed but poor

Trends in the working poor in Spain

Begoña Cueto, University of Oviedo

The pay cuts in Spain from 2010 to 2014 affected above all the workers with the lowest wages. In general, the accumulated decrease caused the median wage in 2017 to be 8.6% lower than that corresponding to 2009. Furthermore, factors such as gender, age and educational level have a decisive impact on wage levels and trends.
Key points
  • 1
       The workers with the lowest wages are those who have experienced the largest decrease in their income. From 2010 to 2014, the median wage fell by 5.2%, while the earnings of the 25% of the workforce with the lowest wages did so by 7.5%.
  • 2
       The slight wage recovery of 2016-2018 has not compensated for the previous losses. In particular, the wages of the lowest-paid 25% of the workforce are 6.2 percentage points lower than they were a decade ago.
  • 3
       In-work poverty has more impact on young people, under-qualified people and women, who are also the workers most affected by job instability (temporary and part-time employment).
Have workers regained the wage level they had before the crisis? Trend in wages taking the year 2007 as base 100: median, first quartile and third quartile
resumen_en.png
Women and young people, the worst off

We observe that women’s wages stand at around 80-85% of men’s, at all wage levels and at all times, which reflects the gender pay gap. More than 15% of women workers were poor in 2018, as opposed to 10% of working poor men.

The proportion of working poor under the age of 30 is 10% higher than in the case of the older workforce (30-59). Between the ages of 35 and 59 the situation remains largely stable over the years, the percentage of working poor always standing around 10%, with maximum levels approaching 15%, far removed from the 28% reached in 2014 by workers aged between 25 and 29.

Classification

Tags

Subject areas

Related content

Article

Dual Vocational Education & labour market insertion in Catalonia

Does Dual Vocational Education and Training favour the labour market incorporation of young people? Dual VET graduates work more days per year and earn more.

Article

How do people’s acquaintances shape their support for economic redistribution and social protection?

We analyse how opinions on economic redistribution and social protection depend not only on family incomes, but also on the wages earned by people in the immediate social environment.

Report

Job uncertainty and income redistribution preferences

The duality between temporary and permanent contracts conditions the labour market in Spain and causes differences in job security and income. What impact does this have on people’s redistribution preferences?

Report

Disability, inequality and income redistribution

What is the economic impact of disability? This report shows that households with at least one member with disability present lower income levels.

Report

Capital income and income inequality in Spain, 1980-2020

Why does Spain present income inequality levels higher than the European average? Differences in income between age groups and the concentration of capital among the richest groups are some of the causes.

You may also find interesting

Social welfare systems and inequality in Europe

Report

Social welfare systems and inequality in Europe


Social Inclusion

Spain’s social protection system is less redistributive than those of other EU countries. What reforms could help reduce economic inequality in Spain?

Detection of workplace bullying and its negative impact on psychological well-being

Article

Detection of workplace bullying and its negative impact on psychological well-being


Social Inclusion

11.2% of the population present a high probability of suffering a situation of harassment in their workplace and may develop generalised anxiety disorder. How can possible cases of psychological harassment be detected?

Technocratic attitudes in Spain during the pandemic

Article

Technocratic attitudes in Spain during the pandemic


Social Inclusion

In times of crisis, do citizens prefer to adopt a more technical type of government? According to this study, technocratic attitudes among Spanish people increased during the pandemic, especially among right-wing voters.