The document summarizes key facts about the Balearic Islands labour market in Spain. It notes that the economy is highly specialized in tourism and the population is over 1 million people, mostly on the island of Majorca. Unemployment rates are typically higher than the EU average, especially among youth, and the labour market sees large fluctuations between the summer tourism season and winter. Most employment is in services like accommodation, food, and retail linked to tourism. The regional government aims to address unemployment through active labour market policies like training, job search assistance, and subsidizing employment.

1. Balearic Islands Labour Market
Francisco Caparros Alcaraz
Majorca, November 9th, 2015
SEMSEM PROJECT
fjcaparros@soib.caib.es

2. ABSTRACT
fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
The aim of this lecture is to present Balearic Islands Labour Market facts, taking
into account the specific context of an economy highly specialised in tourism
activities. Furthermore, some key ideas about Active Labour Market Policies and or
youth will be commented
About the institution
Regional public administration
Responsible of ALMP in Balearic Islands.Spain
Member of the European Employment Services EURES
Focus on unemployment, youth, women and mature workers
Regular activities are connected with training, counseling and job searching
Budget 2015: 42.000.000€
About the lecturer
Civil Servant specialized in ALMP
fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
http://treballaire.wordpress.com

3. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
DEMOGRAPHIC EVOLUTION
KEY MESSAGES
 The Balearic Islands population is 1,103,442
No statistical difference between male (549,801) female (553,641)
Majorca is the most populated Island with 858,313 people
 Working age population is 69.56% of the whole population
 Population Pyramid is regressive: wider at top than at base
 Dependency ratio 43.74% in 2014

4. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
HUMAN CAPITAL
KEY MESSAGES
The Balearic Islands have the lowest rate of population with
tertiary educational level (27.9%)
Balearic Islands have one of the highest rates of early leavers
from education and training (32.1%) in the European Union
Balearic Islands attainment level most employed is less than
primary and lower secondary education (41%), followed by tertiary
education (33%).

5. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
ECONOMY
KEY MESSAGES
From 2014, the Spanish economy is
recovering from both the global financial
crisis of 2008 and the sovereign debt
crisis that affected the country in 2011
The Balearic Islands economy is one of
the most dynamic European regions in
terms of economic growth.
Balearic Islands perform smoothly in
the long run with less expansive or
contractive economic peaks than EU and
Spain.
High specialization of the economy in
tourism activities oriented to
international markets.
The different contribution of the
economic activities as well as their
aggregation by economic sectors shows
clearly that Balearic Islands depend on
Services (86.17%) more than Industry,
Construction or Agriculture.

6. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
ECONOMY
KEY MESSAGES
NACE: European standard classification of
productive economic activities
ISIC: International standard industrial
classification of all economic activities
A detailed analysis indicates that many
economic activities are clearly linked to
tourism dynamics such as accommodation,
food, trade (36%), Real State (16.68%),
Construction (5.82%) or Entertainment
(4.78).

7. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
ECONOMY
KEY MESSAGES
The business structure of the Balearic Islands
is characterized by micro enterprises (96.16%)
which means less than 10 employees and an
annual balance-sheet under 2 million euro. In
fact, even companies with no salaried worker
already account half (52.75%) of the total
enterprises.
Employees stratum indicates that Balearic
Islands is a region where people try to be
entrepreneur and run their own business. The
most common enterprise is the self-employed
without employers (44,451).
BALEARIC ISLANDS
ENTERPRISES BY SIZE TOTAL %
MICRO ENTERPRISES (<10) 81,038 96.16%
SMALL ENTERPRISES (<50) 2,734 3.24%
MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (<250) 436 0.52%
LARGE ENTERPRISES (>250) 62 0.07%
TOTAL 84,270 100%

8. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
LABOUR MARKET
KEY MESSAGES
The working age population is 777,300
people and active population is 600,600.
One stylised fact is that females are
participating more than years ago in the
Balearic Islands labour market. The gender
gap is being closed but it may be interpreted
as a consequence of the male
unemployment in construction activities due
the burst of the Real State bubble in 2007.
Balearic Islands economically activity rate
(77.3%) is higher than the EU rate (72.3%),
Spain (74.2%) and East Spain (76.3%) which
may means that local labour market is quite
dynamic and offers opportunities for almost
everyone.

9. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
LABOUR MARKET
KEY MESSAGES
The employment/labour force rate in the
Balearic Islands decreased from 68.5% in
2004 to 61.8% in 2014. However, data shows
that Balearic Islands performed better in the
whole series than Spain and East Spain. In
2014, Spain employment/labour force rate
(56%), East Spain (59.2%) and Balearic
Islands (61.8%) are below the EU rate
(64.8%).
Females in Balearic Islands have lower
employment rate than males. However, the
gap is narrowing due the economical
downturn that affected more the traditional
male employment such as construction and
industry than the employment with higher
prevalence of women such as social
services, health or education.

10. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
LABOUR MARKET
KEY MESSAGES
Some economic sectors contracts more workers than others:
wholesale, retail trade, accommodation and food activities (40.39%),
public services (19.11%), entertainment (9.75%) and professional
and technical services (9.65%).
Results in line with GVA by economic activities and indicate that
Balearic Islands economy has a labour market based on services.
Most frequent jobs in Balearic Islands can be a predictor of labor
conditions. Employments with low skills requirements such as
waiter, cleaning staff, kitchen assistants, bricklayers or domestic
workers are usually affected by temporality, partiality, low wages
and general poor conditions.
MOST FREQUENT JOBS IN BALEARIC
ISLANDS
CONTRACTS
SIGNED 2014
1 Waiters and bartenders 61.177
2 Cleaning staff offices, hotels and other 33.951
3 Sales workers 25.013
4 Kitchen assistants 13.441
5 Masons 12.992
6 Chefs 12.134
7 Bricklayers 8.731
8 Administrative staff 7.169
9 Domestic workers 6.973
10 Composers, musicians and singers 6.811

11. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
LABOUR MARKET
KEY MESSAGES
In 2014, the Balearic Islands unemployment rate
seasonally adjusted (20%) is lower than the Spanish (24.4%)
and East Spain (22.2%) but almost two times higher the
European Union rate (10.2%).
It is clear that the economical crisis rocketed the
unemployment rate in the Balearic Islands from 6% in
2006 to 23% in 2013.
Apart from 2012, the unemployment rate affected
more male than female.
There is an unemployment pattern in Europe based
on economic activities and geographical elements
more than country specificities because European
southern regions from countries such as Spain,
Greece, Italy or Croatia have higher unemployment
than central or northern regions
(European Yearbook, 2014)

12. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
LABOUR MARKET
KEY MESSAGES
 Youth unemployment arises as one of the most important challenges in EU due the lack of employment addressed to youth.
 EU youth unemployment rate (22.1%) is two times higher than EU unemployment rate (10.4%). Such double youth unemployment
rate or worst is also happening in Spain (53.2%), East Spain (50.2%) and Balearic Islands (44.6%) when the youth unemployed rate is
compared with general Spanish unemployment rate (24.4%), East Spain (22.2%) and Balearic Islands (20%).
 NEET rate in Spain (17,1%), East Spain (18,7%) and Balearic Islands (21,2%) are significantly higher than EU NEET rate (12,5%).
 Balearic Islands female youth is suffering more than males because they have higher unemployment and NEET rates

13. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
LABOUR MARKET
KEY MESSAGE
The saw-tooth trend line of labour contracts shows
how the Balearic Islands labour market is depending
on the summer tourist season because labour
contracts are mainly concentrated in the second and
third quarter of the year. Consequently, the
unemployment rate trend line also decreases in the
same quarters.

14. fjcaparros@soib.caib.es
CONCLUDING REMARKS
All economies, including the advanced ones, have some strengths, weaknesses and risks. The
Balearic Islands economy is not an exception and sheds some lights and shadows because is
characterized by the intensity of the service activities (86.17%), microenterprises (86.16%) and the
seasonality of the productivity. However, the archipelago overcomes better the economical downturns
than Spain and East Spain.
Balearic Islands do not invest properly in human capital. The low rate of tertiary education (27%) and
the extreme rates of early leavers (32%) are clear symptoms of an economic model based on low
productivity and precarity. Indeed, a detailed look of the labour market shows periodic oscillations of
the unemployment rate higher than 10% when you compare the summer and the winter quarter. Such
dynamics disincentive to participate in VET processes because the Balearic Islands labour market
periodically offers a summer peak of low qualified vacancies.
SOIB tries to smooth such sharpened transitions between employment and unemployment by
offering a classic package of ALMP which mainly contains guidance, job search assistance, training,
subsidizing employment, public employment programs an entrepreneur assistance.
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-03e3-dab0-1c96?lb

15. Thank you for your attention !!!
fjcaparros@soib.caib.es