Spain: Persisting Inequalities in a Growing Employment Context

Abstract

Spain is one of the EU countries with a high level of in-work poverty (IWP). In 2007 Spain had an IWP rate of 10.6 per cent, only surpassed by Greece and Poland within the EU-25. This rate is similar to that of European countries with a smaller per capita income and is of course much higher than most Central and Northern Europe countries. What’s more, the Spanish IWP rate has remained remarkably stable during the mid-nineties and has slightly increased since the beginning of this century. Changes in the pattern of the relationship between employment and poverty can be observed through studies on poverty in Spain (Ayala et al., 2008). Despite the high incidence and trends towards ‘more in-work’ poverty, the Spanish case has only been analysed by very few studies (Ramos-Diaz, 2004; Gutiérrez, 2008; Arranz and García-Serrano, 2009).