Changes

[[File:Logo_Monografía.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Gráfico estadístico: Evolución del paro registrado. 2015-2020. Spain.]]One of the immediate effects of the health crisis on the labour market was that many people were unable to carry out the tasks they usually performed. Countless people saw their economic activity suspended by the economic shutdown following the state of alarm on14 March, with exceptions only being made for activities that were considered ‘essential’. As restrictions were gradually loosened in May and June, some workers were able to return to work, yet many others were not. This second group included those whose companies made use of the exceptional measures put in place by the national government through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (agreed upon by employers and unions and approved in Parliament), which allowed employers to reduce working hours and even suspend contracts. Also in this group were those unable to return to work, either because the company could not withstand the temporary shutdown and folded or because the company adjusted its workforce once economy opened again, what made some employees redundant.

 According to data from the Ministry of Work and Social Economy, the bulk of the monthly increase in unemployment by sector was concentrated in the service sector in absolute terms, which saw a rise of 206,000 in March 2020, 9% more than in the previous month. In relative terms, however, the rise was more significant in the industry sector (25,194 people and 9.15%) and, above all, in the construction sector (58,000 people and 22.9%). Finally, the group of people without previous employment recorded4,984 new job seekers, increasing by 1.91%. From April to May 2020, registered unemployment decreased in the construction sector (23,717 people, -6.89%) and in the industry (262 fewer unemployed people, -0.08%). By contrast, registered unemployment rose, above all, in the service sector (40,784 more job seekers, 1.50%), in the agricultural sector (710 job seekers, 0.43%) and in the group without previous employment(9,058 people, 3.30%). 

{{ANETextoEpigrafe|epigrafe=Paro según la Encuesta de Población ActivaEstimated unemployment according to the Labour Force Survey}}

La tasa de paro estimada por la Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA) pasó de un Unemployment rate is estimated in Spain by the National Statistics Institute through the Labour Force Survey, which is a large household sample survey, conducted in all EU Member States, providing quarterly results on labour participation of people aged 16 and over. Unemployment rate grew in Spain from 14% en el segundo trimestre de of the active population in the second quarter of 2019 a to 15,.3% de la población activa en el mismo trimestre de in the second quarter of 2020 y siguió aumentando hasta el and continued to increase up to 16,.26% en el tercer trimestre de in the third quarter of 2020. La EPA ha sido tradicionalmente la estadística más adecuada para medir el desempleo y determinar la tasa de paroThis survey has traditionally been regarded as the most accurate measurement of unemployment in Spain. No obstanteHowever, en la situación extraordinaria vividagiven the extraordinary situation in spring 2020, es difícil que esta estadística recoja en una sola foto todo lo que ha sucedido en el mercado laboral durante estos mesesit is hard for this survey to show in a single picture what happened in the labour market during this period.

</ul></div>Por ejemploFor example, los trabajadores afectados por un expediente de regulación temporal de empleo (ERTE) no se consideran parados, aunque no estén trabajando, si bien es cierto que conservan su empleo y están percibiendo una retribuciónfurloughed workers were not classified as unemployed –even though they were not working– as they continued to be linked to their company and received payments from the government to a large proportion of their salaries. Otra muestra de la dificultad de hacer una lectura certera de la estadística mencionada aparece en lo sucedido con quienes perdieron su empleo en el segundo trimestre, más de un millón de personasAnother example of the challenges involved in taking an accurate reading of these statistics is the situation affecting the over a million people who lost their jobs in the second quarter of the year. La gran mayoría de ellas no pudieron ser consideradas paradas porque no pudieron buscar activamente empleo, un requisito fundamental en la definición estadística de desempleo y, por tantoThe vast majority of these could not be officially considered ‘unemployed’ as they could not actively seek employment during lockdown, casi un millón de trabajadores pasaron which is a ser considerados inactivoskey requirement for the statistical definition of unemployment. De este modoTherefore, la población inactiva aumentó ythese workers were considered ‘inactive’, por el contrariowhich meant that although the inactive population increased, la población parada no lo hizo tanto como cabía esperarconversely unemployed did not grow to the extent that may have been expected.

Ahora bienConsidering the heterogeneity of the situations observed after the arrival of COVID-19, no todas las personas que había entonces en la situación de población inactiva se enfrentaban de la misma manera a su estado de inactividadbroader understanding of the term ‘unemployed’ is required to account for people who are not working but statistically do not meet the requirements to be considered as ‘unemployed’. Fueron tantos y tan claros los ejemplos que algunos investigadoresTherefore, in addition to the unemployed as defined by the criteria of the International Labour Organisation [ILO] (not in work but available and actively seeking employment), this group includes employed who had to stop doing their jobs for technical or economical reasons as well as furloughed workers. It also includes available inactive people, i.e incluso el propio INE. unemployed who cannot look for work and therefore do not meet the ILO criteria to be considered as such. Including these employed and inactive in the ‘extended unemployment figures’ enables calculating an extended unemployment rate, comenzaron which draws a incorporar en sus análisis nuevos grupos de personas considerando matices que permitían identificar la situación especial que estaba viviendo cada una de estas personasmore accurate picture of the situation experienced by different groups in the labour market. This estimated rate grew in Spain from 16.4% towards the end of 2019 to 35.6% in the second quarter of 2020. The rate according to the ILO criteria for the same period went from 13.8% to 15.3%.

Es másFrom the point of view of society and the labour market, en la información estadística del INE también aparece un grupo significativo de personas que han dejado de estar disponibles para trabajarthe ‘available inactive’ population, aunque están buscando empleoi. La situación del estado de alarma les ha impedido poder salir e. those officially considered inactive because they do not meet the requirements to be in the labour market but wish to join it, is a trabajar, quizás por tener que hacerse responsables de la educación de sus hijos durante el cierre de los centros escolaresmatter of major concern. Every day spent in this situation makes them more vulnerable and may result in them being permanently excluded from the labour market.La brecha de género en la tasa de paro disminuye durante la pandemia; si en el segundo trimestre de The gender gap in the unemployment rate slightly decreased during the pandemic. In the second quarter of 2019 la tasa de paro de las mujeres estaba , the unemployment rate for women was 3,.3 puntos porcentuales por encima de la de los hombres% higher than the one for men. By the second quarter of 2020, en el segundo trimestre de 2020 la diferencia es de the gap had narrowed to 2,.6 puntos porcentuales%. Esta disminución no debe interpretarse como una mejora relativa de la situación laboral de las mujeresHowever, ya quethis drop may not be interpreted as a relative improvement in female employment. Instead, como se ha explicadoas previously explained, algunos parados pasaron a ser clasificados como inactivosit indicates that some unemployed were statistically classified as inactive, afectando más esta situación a las mujeres que a los hombresmore of whom were women. La tasa de paro de los jóvenes menores de 25 años aumentó del The unemployment rate amongst the under 25s increased from 33% al to 39,.6%, mostrando un incremento relativo mayor que para el conjunto de la poblaciónshowing a more significant relative increase than seen in the whole population. The increase in the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2020 was well widespread throughout Spain. The regions that had the highest unemployment rate in 2019, which were Andalusia (Andalucía), the Canary Islands (Canarias) and Castile–La Mancha (Castilla–La Mancha), continued to hold this position in 2020. The same evolution was observed in the unemployment rate amongst the under 25s.

{{ANETextoEpigrafe|epigrafe=Expedientes de Regulación Temporal de EmpleoFurlough Schemes}}

[[File:Logo_Monografía.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Gráfico estadístico: Empresas en situación de ERTE según sector económico. 2020. España.]]El mercado de trabajo comenzó a sufrir inmediatamente el impacto de la pandemiaThe labour market began to feel rapidly the impact of the pandemic short after 14 March 2020. Tanto fue así que, de manera casi inmediata, la administración emprendió medidas de choque, dirigidas tanto a empresas como a personas trabajadoras, para mitigar los efectos devastadores que ya se estaban dejando sentirThe public administrations quickly took hefty measures to lessen the effects of lockdown for both companies and workers. La entrada en vigor del Real Decreto-ley One of the main priorities of Royal Decree Law 8/2020, de of 17 de marzoMarch, de medidas urgentes extraordinarias para hacer frente al impacto económico y on extraordinary urgent measures to reduce the economic and social de la impact of COVID-19, tuvo como prioridad principal proteger y dar soporte al tejido productivo y was to protect the productive and social para minimizar el impacto del virus y conseguir retomar la actividad en cuanto fuese posiblefabric so that it could resume normal activity as soon as possible. Entre todas estas medidas cabe destacar, por su importancia y eficaciaOne of the most important and effective mechanisms was Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, la figura conocida como expediente de regulación temporal de empleo (ERTE)officially called ‘Temporary Employment Regulation Scheme’, que ya existía en nuestra normativa, pero se adaptó which is a las nuevas circunstanciasfurlough-type instrument which already existed in Spanish regulation but was adapted to fit the new scenario. El ERTE facilita la suspensión del contrato de trabajo o la reducción de su jornada al tiempo que se mantiene el empleo y las personas trabajadoras reciben una prestación compensatoria por la pérdida total o parcial de su salarioThis instrument allowed companies to temporarily suspend an employment contract or reduce its working hours whilst keeping the employment relationship. Se establecieron dos nuevas modalidades de ERTE, una por fuerza mayor y otra por causas objetivasWhilst this Scheme was in force, con el objetivo común de evitar que se produjesen despidos vinculados workers received a la enorme incertidumbre ocasionada por la pandemia y la fortísima caída de la actividad laboral debidapayment from the government to compensate for the total or partial loss of their salary. Two new furlough schemes were set, no sólo al periodo de confinamiento, sino también a todas las restricciones impuestas para la contención de la pandemia que afectaban a todas las esferas de la actividad cotidianai.e. one due to force majeure and the other due to objective reasons. Both were intended to prevent lay-offs linked to uncertainty and the drop in activity caused by lockdown. La intensidad y extensión en el tiempo de la The intensity and duration of the health crisis sanitaria ha obligado a la administración a tener que ir aplazando en el tiempo la finalización de esta figura excepcionalforced the public administrations to lengthen this mechanism on several occasions, de modo que en junio de to the extent that it was still in force in June 2021 seguían estando vigentes.

[[File:Logo_Monografía.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Mapa: Empresas en situación de ERTE. 2020. Spain. ]]

[[File:Logo_Monografía.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Mapa: Población afectada por ERTE. 2020. Spain. ]]

</ul></div>Los datos registrados en el Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal, entre mayo y junio de Data registered by the National Public Employment Service for the months of May and June 2020show that Furlough Schemes were predominantly used in the service sector, ponen de manifiesto que el uso de los ERTE ha estado muy ligado particularly in commerce and the food and beverage services. To a unas determinadas actividades productivas muy relacionadas con el sector servicioslesser extent, Furlough Schemes were also used in professional and administrative services, education, entre las que destacan de manera especial la hostelería y el comercio. Aunque también se han aplicado en aquellos servicios de carácter profesional o administrativosports, en la educaciónculture, los deportessocial services, la cultura y los servicios socialesmanufacturing and construction. Y también en la manufactura y la construcción. En todos los casosRestrictions and limitations being loosened and then lifted after lockdown and the gradual return to ‘new normal life’ from May 2020, la flexibilización de las restricciones tras el confinamiento y la vuelta gradual led in all cases to a la ''nueva normalidad'' desde el mes de mayo de drop in uptakes by June 2020 ayudaron a que el número de registros se redujese en el mes de junio.Los datos sobre empresas que se han acogido Data on companies using Furlough Schemes, as well as on employees who received unemployment benefits as a un ERTEresult of being affected by this mechanism, así como sobre personas ocupadas afectadas por este tipo de procedimientos de regulación de empleoshow that the vast majority were due to force majeure and job suspension in the second quarter of 2020, que son beneficiarias de prestaciones por desempleowith far fewer being used for objective reasons or to allow partial unemployment. The maps show that Furlough Schemes were more commonly used in areas of Spain where the local economy is largely based on the service sector, ponen de manifiesto que la gran mayoría de los registros a lo largo del segundo trimestre de 2020in general, han sido de fuerza mayor y de suspensión de empleoand the food and beverage services, siendo mucho menor el peso de otras razones y la situación de desempleo parcialin particular.

{{ANETextoEpigrafe|epigrafe=DesempleoUnemployment, pobreza y protección poverty and socialprotection}}

[[File:Logo_Monografía.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Gráfico estadístico: Evolución de los hogares con todos sus miembros activos en paro. 2005-2020. España.]]Las primeras estimaciones sobre el impacto económico de la pandemia en Europa confirman que la tasa de pobreza está aumentando en muchos paísesThe first estimates of the impact of the pandemic on economy in Europe confirm that poverty rate is increasing in many states. AsíIn spite of the emergency measures put in force by the governments, y the current situation is breeding a pesar de las medidas de choque, esta situación está provocando un aumento en las diferencias de ingresos entre países, reduciendo la cohesión rise in income disparities between states and reducing the social y and territorial del continentecohesion of the continent. Los países del surStates in the south, y España en and Spain in particular, tienen menos empleos susceptibles de trabajo remoto y quienes pueden acceder a él son trabajadores de mayor cualificación y salario que en otros países centroeuropeoshave fewer jobs that may be carried out using home office, yet those who may work from home tend to be more qualified and have higher salaries than in other central European states. AdemásIn addition, los trabajos esenciales en las economías del sur contienen una menor proporción de empleos de cualificación media y bajafewer medium and low-skilled jobs were deemed as being ‘essential’ in southern European states, lo que hace prever que el impacto de la pandemia en las rentas más bajas sea significativamente mayor que en otros paísessuggesting that the impact of the pandemic on lower-income households was more significant than in other states.