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{{ANENavegacionHermanos |anterior=[[Economic_indicators_and_productive_sectors|Economic indicators and productive sectors]] |siguiente=[[Public_finance_(COVID-19_monograph)|Public finance]] }}
[[File:Logo_MonografíaSpain_Evolution-in-the-amount-of-workers-affiliated-to-the-Social-Security-system_2019-2020_statisticalgraph_18359_eng.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Statistical graph: Evolution in the amount of workers affiliated to the Social Security system. 2019-2020. Spain.]]
Assessing the labour market becomes crucial when rating an economy, its dynamism, the social welfare and the income level of the population. The labour market is made up of people, some of whom offer their labour in exchange for a salary that enables them to live, and some of whom demand this labour to produce the goods they sell and are willing to pay these salaries in return.
The Spanish labour market has some unique characteristics that make it highly vulnerable to any negative impact, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The relationship between supply and demand for labour suffered a major downturn in Spain in March 2020 that had a heavy impact on the behaviour of the main indicators on the labour market and utterly modified the trends seen before the setback.
The amount of workers affiliated to the Social Security system is an indicator on the capacity of the labour market to grow or reduce formal employment. The amount of affiliated workers followed the usual patterns throughout 2019, as may observed on the graph on the [[:File:Evolution Spain_Evolution-in -the -amount -of -workers -affiliated -to -the -Social -Security system-system_2019-2020_statisticalgraph_18359_eng.jpg| ''Evolution in the amount of workers affiliated to the Social Security system'']], i.e. starting from a low level in January and then steadily rising in the months leading up to the summer period, after which it remained virtually stagnant, except for slight reductions towards the end of August and December. This pattern is indicative of the seasonality of the Spanish economy and is more evident in the General Scheme of the Social Security system than in the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers.
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[[File:Logo_MonografíaSpain_Workers-affiliated-to-the-Social-Security-System_2018-2019_map_17823_eng.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Map: Workers affiliated to the Social Security System during . 2018-2019. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Workers-affiliated-to-the first wave of -Social-Security-System_2018-2019_map_17823_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Workers-affiliated-to-the pandemic. 2019-2020Social-Security-System_2018-2019_map_17823_eng. Spainzip Data]. ]]
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</ul></div>This pattern continued towards the beginning of 2020, but was suddenly interrupted by the state of alarm on 14 March, which brought all ‘non-essential economic activities’ to a halt. This had a major impact on the amount of workers affiliated to the Social Security system. From 14 to 31 March, affiliations plummeted. The Social Security system lost 898,822 affiliated workers in just one month, of which 855,081 were affiliated to the General Scheme (equivalent to a drop of 5.63%) and 40,877 to the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers (equivalent to a reduction of 1.25%).
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<div><ul style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0>{{ANETextoAsociado48|titulo=EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS|contenido=[[File:Logo_MonografíaSpain_Employment-contracts-during-the-pandemic_2019-2020_map_18159_eng.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Map: Employment contracts during the pandemic . 2019-2020. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Employment-contracts-during-the-pandemic_2019-2020_map_18159_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Employment-contracts-during-the-pandemic_2019-2020_map_18159_eng.zip Data]. ]] The drop in the amount of workers affiliated to the Social Security system who had temporary contracts (-17.30%) was much sharper than amongst those with permanent contracts (-1.92%). However, new contracts were signed in all regions, most of them temporary, as shown on the map on [[:File:Employment Contracts Spain_Employment-contracts-during -the pandemic-pandemic_2019-2020_map_18159_eng.jpg| ''Employment Contracts during the pandemic'']]. This map depicts the amount of employment contracts -both temporary and permanent- registered in the National Public Employment Service throughout the first wave of the pandemic. The variation in the amount of new contracts signed in 2020 in relation to those signed in the same period in 2019 is shown on the choropleth. The downturn in the labour market explains why this variation was negative in all regions, although not to the same degree. New contracts fell the most in the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears) (-72.3%), followed by the Canary Islands (Canarias) and some regions in northern Spain, with a negative variation ranging from -50% to -60%. Andalusia (Andalucía), the Region of Valencia (Comunitat Valenciana), Aragón, Navarre (Navarra) and La Rioja registered slightly lower decreases, of -40% to -50%. Falls registered in Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha (Castilla-La Mancha) were around -30% to -40%. Only in the Region of Murcia (Región de Murcia) was the fall somewhat lower (-28.5%).}}<ul style="text-align: left; margin-top: 0>{{ANETextoAsociado48|titulo=HOME OFFICE|contenido=[[File:Logo_MonografíaSpain_Home-office-during-the-pandemic_2020_map_18158_eng.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Map: Home office during the pandemic. 2020. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Home-office-during-the-pandemic_2020_map_18158_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Home-office-during-the-pandemic_2020_map_18158_eng.zip Data]. ]]
Many companies and public administrations could only continue their activity during lockdown in spring 2020 by allowing their employees to work from home. A previously scarcely used labour format became almost overnight a large-scale experiment to test the possibilities offered by this way of managing the production process. According to the Labour Force Survey, at least 20% of employees in Spain were in home office during this period.
Figures highlight significant differences by region and sex. From a spatial point of view, the Region of Madrid (Comunidad de Madrid) stands out, as over 30% of employees were in home office. This contrasts with the Canary Islands (Canarias), La Rioja, Navarre (Navarra) and the Region of Murcia (Región de Murcia) where only under 15% of employees worked from home. In terms of gender, more women than men were in home office in most of the regions, especially in Aragón, Extremadura and the town of Melilla.
