Undesired consequences of labour market reforms: From temporary to precarious jobs - the case of Spain

Abstract

One of the peculiarities of the Spanish labour market has been the existence of a high share of temporary employment, a result of the 1984 labour reform which made the use of temporary contracts more flexible. Since 1994, various reforms have sought to increase the use of open-ended contracts and discourage the use of fixed-term contracts. Although these reforms, in particular the 2012 and 2021 reforms, have led to a reduction in the share of temporary workers they have also created other unintended problems, such as a reduction in the duration of fixed-term contracts, the proliferation of part-time contracts and atypical open-ended contracts, and a high share of temporary employment in public sector.