Three quarters show a pattern of intermittent activity
On average, most workers stay active during part of the month while the remaining three months are largely inactive, waiting for a call. This is the pattern observed a year later. In Spain, labor reform has introduced a star figure aimed at replacing a large portion of temporary contracts. These contracts, signed each financial year, can be indefinite in theory but are kept on hold during months of lower contractor activity. By 2022, this type of employment relationship was projected to double and reach about 1.2 million workers.
The Ministry of Labor disclosed the number of such workers who are necessarily unemployed each month after a parliamentary inquiry from the PP. Critics from the opposition and some academic circles have argued that the government reports the number of intermittent workers who are active and listed every month, but not the total who are inactive. By December 2022, there were 1.23 million workers with permanent contracts in force in Spain, of whom 443,078 were inactive for 10 months.
In other words, although not captured in official statistics, roughly 35.7% of these workers were actually unemployed for operational reasons. For more than four decades, neither the current government nor its predecessors has recorded intermittent permanent workers in these statistics, and standard unemployment metrics have not reliably captured this dynamic. A scholarly consensus exists that measuring unemployment development in a reliable way remains challenging.
“The figure released in the parliamentary response is raw registry data and does not fully reflect reality. It has undergone a thorough technical review by the Supreme Court to improve robustness and precision. The labor department has promised to publish a more refined indicator soon to provide a clearer, more reliable view, as has been explained in prior months.
The total number of intermittent contracts increased sharply last year, yet they still account for a small share of Spain’s total employment. Social Security data, crosschecked monthly with the new Ministry of Labor figures, shows that 7.4% of total wage earners, about 16.7 million people, experience discontinuous employment. Within this group, the most common pattern is to work without steady pay, especially when not at home.
Less protection when not working
Two key issues require attention in collective bargaining: the level of social protection and the minimum activity periods during the year. As part of the job reform, many intermittent contracts were effectively surplus, and many companies rarely used them. As a result, most collective agreements did not contain specific clauses regulating the terms of such employment.
Today, a permanent fixed contract provides less unemployment protection compared to other wage earners. Data shows that about seven out of ten workers registered with Sepe receive a benefit or subsidy, while roughly six out of ten in the intermittent category do. Available information allows the visualization of dates when coverage drops most sharply. For example, from March to June, when fewer permanent workers are unemployed, those who remain idle can receive little or no benefits. In some cases, less than half received a grant between March and April.
Seasonality
The figure for discontinuous fixed contracts has strengthened alongside the labor reform, reflecting seasonality in key sectors of the Spanish economy such as hospitality, retail, and tourism. Data indicates that 60% of intermittent contracts are active during the quiet period of January 2022, while May 2022, a peak activity month, shows the rate rising to 85.5%. Hospitality and seasonal service roles face peak mobility during Easter, aligning with the most active period for teaching staff who still have classes. Activity tends to dip after June as students begin summer vacations and many teachers sit idle, with September bringing another uptick as the hospitality sector recovers and the academic year starts. After that, activity declines again toward December, mirroring the end of the business cycle and the Christmas season.
Notes: This summary follows the labor market data reported by the national authorities and cross-referenced with Social Security records. It highlights the seasonal fluctuations that shape the Spanish employment landscape and the implications for social protection and wage stability. Cited sources include the Ministry of Labor and related statistical bodies, with ongoing reviews by the Supreme Court as noted in parliamentary inquiries. [Cited from official labor statistics and parliamentary records]