Independent work Losing Popularity
Laying it straight: Maria Jose, an archaeologist in Cartagena, and Gonzalo, a web developer in Valencia, both opted for employment over self-employment. Maria Jose would only return to self-employment for an " über attractive" project. Gonzalo, previously self-employed, found the reduced quota unfulfilling and decided to join the wage-earner ranks.
Despite the rise in employment after the pandemic, it's not all sunshine and roses for self-employment. In June 2023, Spain had just 3,351,381 affiliates to the Special Social Security Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA), a mere 0.0003% increase compared to the previous year. The wage-earner regime, on the other hand, saw a whopping 3.4% growth. So, while the number of self-employed workers has been increasing since the pandemic, the progress is glacial compared to their wage-earning counterparts.
The commerce sector, a significant employer of self-employed workers, takes the brunt of the job cuts – a 2.6% decrease in the last year, leaving the sector with fewer than 750,000 workers. Sectors like energy supply and air conditioning, artistic activities, real estate activities, and information and communications have experienced growth, albeit at low absolute figures.
Experts, like labor economist Virginia Hernanz, label the remaining self-employed workers as "top-quality." These are motivated individuals making a deliberate choice to be self-employed, unlike those who are involuntarily self-employed due to a lack of wage-earning opportunities. A 2017 study by the La Caixa Foundation suggests that involuntary self-employed workers tend to be younger, less educated, workers from the construction sector, and those holding unqualified jobs.
Official data suggests a decrease in false self-employed workers since the peak of 195,200 in the second quarter of 2018. The number has almost halved to 132,100, indicative of less income tax fraud. However, the data's exact implications are unclear since not all reclassified self-employed workers may be false self-employed workers.
The Federation of Self-Employed Workers ATA, affiliated with CEOE, focuses on inflation as a cause of the self-employment tremor, questioning the emphasis on false self-employment. The ATA's latest barometer reveals that 16.3% of self-employed workers expect to reduce their workforce in 2023, while only 6% anticipate an increase. Additionally, 13.5% report making dismissals in the past year. Given that self-employed workers employ more than 860,000 people in Spain, these trends could have a ripple effect on the broader economy.
Businesses in the finance industry have reported an average growth rate of 3.4% for wage-earners, contrary to the minimal 0.0003% increase for self-employed workers. Experts suggest that the remaining self-employed workers, despite a decrease in false self-employment, are primarily top-quality individuals with conscious choices, differentiating them from involuntarily self-employed workers.
