EFFECTS OF COVID-19 ON EMPLOYMENT IN SPAIN: ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENCES IN REGARD TO THE BEGINNING OF THE 2008 CRISIS

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of the pandemic on employment in Spain and its comparison with the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. On the one hand, the evolution of employment is analysed, disaggregating by sex, age group, type of working day and type of sector (public or private), as well as temporary and partiality rates. On the other hand, the differences observed in the percentage changes in employment are related to the percentage change in GDP. The results obtained allow us to affirm that the drop in employment in the 2nd quarter of 2020 is even greater than that registered at the beginning of the 2008 crisis, especially among women and young people. However, at the end of 2020 the job loss is already clearly lower than that recorded in the first year of the financial crisis. The sensitivity of employment to GDP has been much lower in the current crisis, both in temporary employment and in full-time employment.