Characterisation of self-employment in Spain from a European perspective

Pilar García Perea and Concepción Román

Economic Bulletin, 2019, issue JUN, No 20

Abstract: In Spain, self-employment currently accounts for 16% of those employed, a proportion slightly higher than the EU average. Compared with the prevailing structure among employees, it is males, the over-50s, those with a low level of educational attainment and those employed in traditional sectors such as agriculture, wholesale and retail trade, transport and accommodation who are over-represented in this group. Relative to selfemployed workers in the EU, self-employment in Spain accounts for a smaller proportion of the total in the liberal professions in services, generally associated with a higher level of skill. In Spain, the incidence of self-employment economically dependent on a single client is relatively moderate compared with other European countries; but the high incidence of the self-employed who choose to work as such out of necessity, given the lack of alternatives, is notable. Lastly, in all euro area countries, households with a selfemployed family head are seen to be wealthier than those with a wage-earning family head, and Spain is in an intermediate position.

Keywords: self-employment; sole proprietor; employer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H25 J21 J23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
Note: Analytical Articles
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