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[[File:Logo_Monografía.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Statistical graph: Evolution in the amont of households with all active members are unemployment. 2005-2020. España.]]The first estimates of the impact of the pandemic on economy in Europe confirm that poverty rate is increasing in many states. In spite of the emergency measures put in force by the governments, the current situation is breeding a rise in income disparities between states and reducing the social and territorial cohesion of the continent. States in the south, and Spain in particular, have 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. In addition, fewer medium and low-skilled jobs were deemed as being ‘essential’ in southern European states, suggesting that the impact of the pandemic on lower-income households was more significant than in other states.
Comparing the months of May 2019 and May 2020 reveals a remarkable rise in the amount of people claiming unemployment benefits throughout Spain, especially by those affected by furloughs (see the map on [[:File:Beneficiaries of unemployment benefits.jpg|''Beneficiaries of unemployment benefits'']]). However, significant differences may be observed in the regional coverage rates (see the map on [[:File:Coverage of unemployment benefits.jpg|''Coverage of unemployment benefits'']]), which measure the ratio of beneficiaries of unemployment benefits to unemployed. The coverage of unemployment benefits increased in the northern and eastern regions, whilst it reduced in some southern regions, especially Extremadura and Andalusia (Andalucía).
[[File:Logo_Monografía.jpg||left|thumb|300px|Mapa: Coverage of unemployment benefits. 2019-2020. España.]]
The effects of the pandemic revealed more quickly and were more harmful for more vulnerable households, according to the quarterly data from the Labour Force Survey. Both the graph on the [[:File:Evolution in the amount of households .jpg|''Evolution in the amount of households'']] where all active members are unemployed and the graph on the [[:File:Evolution in the amount of households with no income.jpg|''Evolution in the amount of households with no income '']] show that the second quarter of 2020 marked a clear change in trend with respect to the one observed since 2014.
This change in direction entails an increased risk of unemployment, which is much greater for those who live in vulnerable households. The poorest households saw their income drop by a third in the initial months of the pandemic, especially if their members came from ‘informal employment’. This caused a rapid rise in the amount of households living in severe poverty, especially amongst those with dependent minors. The percentage of households with no income, whether due to lack of work or to not having received benefits, increased by almost 20% from the last quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020. However, it shall be pointed out that this rise was nearly double as much for households with dependent minors (37%). Therefore, the economic impact of lockdown seems to have been significantly more severe in households with dependent minors, the long-term consequences of which are an issue of major concern.
