The Spanish job market is facing a slowdown as the country enters a new stage of the post-covid economic recovery, reports Cinco Dias, citing a forecast from the Adecco Group. In January, the number of unemployed was around 2.9 million (specifically, 2,908,397 unemployed) according to Social Security data. By the end of the first quarter of 2023, the figure is expected to exceed 3 million unemployed, according to the Adecco Group Institute, the research arm of the Adecco Group.

The number of unemployed would remain above 3 million in Q1 (+0.7% quarter-on-quarter; -4.1% year-on-year), reaching 3,043,700 unemployed, while in the second quarter it would fall by 3.1% when compared to the previous quarter, lowering the number of unemployed to 2,948,400. The unemployment rate would thus stand at 12.9% and 13% for the first and second quarters, respectively. “The general macroeconomic framework continues to evolve as expected: the economy finished the easy stage of recovery in 2022 after the collapse caused by the pandemic in 2020, entering a stage of very slow growth in 2023. The new phase is entering from a position of weakness and not of strength,” Adecco Group Institute stated.

The report also pointed to the country’s labour reforms as having an impact on temporary employee figures. The number of temporary employees fell 27.7% (1,193,800 fewer) in the last year, to 3.11 million, the lowest since March 2013. These temporary workers have become permanent employees, the Institute added. Last year, Spain’s leftist cabinet approved a landmark labour reform which overhauls the legislation in relation to temporary contracts. The Spanish government claimed the reforms aim to reduce the country’s high number of temporary contracts and avoid layoffs.