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Kvart, Signild, Isabel Cuervo, Virginia Gunn, Wayne Lewchuk, Kim Bosmans, Letitia Davis, Astrid Escrig-Piñol, Per-Olof Östergren, Eva Padrosa, Alejandra Vives, Alessandro Zaupa, Emily Q. Ahonen, Valentina Álvarez-López, Mireia Bolíbar, Ignacio Diaz, Mariana Gutiérrez-Zamora, Lars Ivarsson, Mireia Julià, Carles Muntaner, Patricia O'Campo, Marisol E. Ruiz, Kristian Vänerhagen, Emilia F. Vignola, David Vílchez, Mattias Vos, Theo Bodin & Sherry L. Baron (2025): Labour and social protection gaps impacting the health and well-being of workers in non-standard employment: An international comparative study. In: PLoS ONE, Jg. 20. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0320248

Abstract

"Background: World economies increasingly rely on non-standard employment arrangements, which has been linked to ill health. While work and employment conditions are recognized structural determinants of health and health equity, policies aiming to protect workers from negative implications predominantly focus on standard employment arrangements and the needs of workers in non-standard employment may be neglected. The aim of this study is to explore workers’ experiences of gaps in labour regulations and social protections and its influence on their health and well-being across 6 countries with differing policy approaches: Belgium, Canada, Chile, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Methods: 250 semi-structured interviews with workers in non-standard employment were analyzed thematically using a multiple case-study approach. Results: There are notable differences in workers’ rights to protection across the countries. However, participants across all countries experienced similar challenges including employment instability, income inadequacy and limited rights and protection, due to policy-related gaps and access-barriers. In response, they resorted to individual resources and strategies, struggled to envision supportive policies, and expressed low expectations of changes by employers and policymakers. Conclusions: Policy gaps threaten workers’ health and well-being across all study countries, irrespective of the levels of labour market regulations and social protections. Workers in non-standard employment disproportionately endure economic risks, which may increase social and health inequality. The study highlights the need to improve social protection for this vulnerable population." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Llosa, José Antonio, Enrique Iglesias-Martínez, Esteban Agulló-Tomás, Sara Menéndez-Espina & Beatriz Oliveros (2025): The effect of precarious employment on suicidal ideation: A serial mediation model with contractual temporality and job insecurity. In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Jg. 46, H. 1, S. 239-255. DOI:10.1177/0143831X241240616

Abstract

"Suicidal ideation is a variable prior to suicidal behavior and one of the main producers of risk of death by suicide. The sample consisted of a total of 1,288 people living in Spain who at the time of answering the questionnaire were in active employment. Contractual status is a significant variable for the prediction of suicidal ideation. Contractual temporality is a risk factor for suicidal ideation, whereas permanent employment is a protective factor. In suicidal ideation, job insecurity is a mediating risk factor and a key dimension of job precariousness because of the adverse effects on mental health it causes. Job insecurity interacts with objective causes of precariousness and is presented as a necessary variable for understanding the relationship between these material causes and suicidal thoughts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Maestripieri, Lara, Alba Lanau, Roger Soler‐i‐Martí & Míriam Acebillo‐Baqué (2025): Intertwined precariousness and precarity: Disentangling a phenomenon that characterises Spanish youth. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, Jg. 34, H. 1, S. e12709. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12709

Abstract

"The growth of non-standard employment has emerged as a crucial factor that contributes to delays and difficulties in young people's transitions to adulthood. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of multidimensional measures of precariousness. This paper aims to investigate the phenomenon of precariousness holistically, using an original database of respondents in Spain from 20 to 34 years of age. Using a mixed-methods approach, we explore young people's understandings of precariousness and examine its key determinants and consequences. The findings illustrate the multidimensional nature of feelings of precariousness, with economic insecurity and work conditions being core elements. Our results point to precarity stemming from a combination of inextricably intertwined objective and subjective components, as well as work and economic dimensions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Beneito, Pilar, Maria Garcia-Vega, Oscar Vicente-Chirivella & Guillaume Wilemme (2024): Robots and firms' labour search: The role of temporary work agencies. (Research paper / Nottingham Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy 2024,02), Nottingham, 55 S.

Abstract

"We study the impact of industrial robots on the use of labor intermediaries or temporary work agencies (TWAs) and firm productivity. We develop a theoretical framework where new technologies increase the need for quality match workers. TWAs help firms to search for workers who better match their technologies. The model predicts that using robots increases TWA use, which increases robots' productivity. We test the model implications with panel data of Spanish firms from 1997 to 2016 with information on robot adoption and TWA use. Using staggered difference-in-difference (DiD) estimations, we estimate the causal effects of robot adoption on TWAs. We find robot adopters increase the probability of TWA use compared to non-adopters. We also find that firms that combine robots with TWAs achieve higher productivity than those who adopt robots without TWAs." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bonet, Rocio, Marta Elvira & Stefano Visintin (2024): Hiring Temps but Losing Perms? Temporary Worker Inflows and Voluntary Turnover of Permanent Employees. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 38, H. 1, S. 83-102. DOI:10.1177/09500170221103135

Abstract

"This article investigates the effect of hiring temporary workers on the voluntary turnover of permanent employees. It argues that inflows of temporary workers erode the working conditions of permanent employees, prompting their voluntary departure. Using a unique panel dataset of individual-level monthly payroll data over an eight-year period in a sample of Spanish companies, a positive association between temporary worker inflows and the voluntary turnover of permanent workers is found. The results are robust to diverse specifications and are strongest for firms in non-manufacturing sectors and for firms that hire proportionally more low-skilled workers, contexts where the hiring of temporary workers may be more disruptive for permanent employees. Since the hiring of temporary workers is unlikely to threaten the employment of permanent employees in the dual labour market of Spain, the results indicate serious disruption costs associated with temporary hiring in organisations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Carrasco, Raquel, Ismael Gálvez-Iniesta & Belén Jerez (2024): Do temporary help agencies help? Employment transitions for low-skilled workers. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 90. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2024.102586

Abstract

"We investigate the impact of working for a temporary help agency (THA) compared to being directly hired on the employment transitions of low-skilled male temporary workers aged 20 to 45. Using data from Spanish administrative records, we employ competing risk discrete-time duration models to analyze multiple temporary employment spells. Our analysis reveals the importance of accounting for short-duration dependence and workers’ unobserved heterogeneity. We find that, across all durations, agency workers are more likely to transition either to unemployment or to a new THA contract than their direct-hire counterparts. Transitions to permanent positions, although infrequent in our sample, are also more likely for agency workers. Our qualitative findings hold when unobserved heterogeneity is not controlled for. However, this model underestimates the effect of agency contracts on the risk of entering unemployment and overestimates the impact on the probability of re-entering THA. This suggests that positive self-selection plays a relevant role in explaining the higher persistence of THA employment, but not the associated higher risk of unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Créchet, Jonathan (2024): A model of risk sharing in a dual labor market. In: Journal of monetary economics, Jg. 147. DOI:10.1016/j.jmoneco.2024.103591

Abstract

"In OECD countries, the labor market features a coexistence of open-ended, permanent jobs subject to strict employment protection and fixed-term, temporary jobs. This paper studies a search-and-matching model with risk-averse workers and dynamic employment contracts subject to limited commitment. In equilibrium, permanent and temporary jobs coexist when the match quality is sufficiently dispersed: firing costs generate insurance gains implying that permanent contracts are optimal for high-quality matches. Consistent with recent empirical evidence, quantitative analysis of the model shows that temporary contracts crowd out permanent jobs and do not generate employment gains." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Conde-Ruiz, J. Ignacio, Manu García, Luis A. Puch & Jesús Ruíz (2023): Reforming Dual Labor Markets: “Empirical” or “Contractual” Temporary Rates? (Estudios sobre la Economía Española / Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada 2023-36), Madrid, 48 S.

Abstract

"This paper analyzes the impact of the 2021 labor reform in Spain on job creation, job destruction, and employment duration using new daily comprehensive administrative data. The reform's primary objective was the mitigation of the temporary employment rate; however, despite the success in reducing the nominal temporary employment rate, the evidence suggests that employment stability in terms of duration has not significantly improved. The Spanish experience demonstrates that it is possible to design a labor reform that is highly effective in reducing the “contractual” temporary employment rate in a dual labor market, but with minimal impact on duration and short-term employment transitions, i.e. the “empirical” temporary employment rate." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Siöland, Linus, Emmanuel Hassan, Matthew Geraci, Michela Gasperini, Clara Viñuales, Agnieszka Markowska & Olivia Aouati (2023): Report on mobile seasonal workers and intra-EU labor mobility. Luxemburg, 51 S. DOI:10.2767/093005

Abstract

"Mobile seasonal workers play an important role in the European labor market by increasing the supply of labor in times of the year when there is more work than the domestic market can supply workers for. This allows sectors that are marked by strong seasonality – notably agriculture, hospitality and tourism – to bolster their staff with workers from another country if they are not able to allocate all their work using only domestic applicants." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Carrasco, Raquel, Ismael Gálvez Iniesta & Belén Jerez (2022): Do Temporary Help Agencies Help? Temporary employment transitions for low-skilled workers. (Working paper. Economics / uc3m, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2022,04), Madrid, 40 S.

Abstract

"We investigate how being employed by a Temporary Help Agency (THA) affects transition rates to alternative labor market states for low-skilled workers. Our approach is based on the estimation of competing risk discrete duration models, and reveals the importance of accounting for short duration dependence. We use Spanish administrative data for the period 2005-2017. We find that having a THA contract rather than a direct-hire temporary contract increases the probability of entering into unemployment or another agency job at all durations. Agency workers are more likely to transition to permanent employment than their direct-hire counterparts, but these transitions are very infrequent for both. The positive effect of THA employment on the probability of transitioning to a permanent job is procyclical. By contrast, the positive effect on the probability of entering unemployment (or another agency job) increased during the Great Recession relative to the previous economic expansion, and has remained high during the recovery. In words, agency jobs in Spain are characterized by higher unemployment risk and persistence than regular temporary jobs, and these differences have intensified in recent years. Accouting for unobserved heterogeneity does not alter our main results." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Padrosa, Eva, Francesc Belvis, Joan Benach & Mireia Julià (2021): Measuring precarious employment in the European Working Conditions Survey: psychometric properties and construct validity in Spain. In: Quality & quantity, Jg. 55, H. 2, S. 543-562. DOI:10.1007/s11135-020-01017-2

Abstract

"Monitoring precarious employment (PE) is crucial to design and evaluate policies tailored to enhance the quality of employment and to achieve more decent and sustainable labour markets. In that regard, the construction of theory-based multidimensional measurement instruments with data derived from well-established and periodically-conducted surveys stands out as an insightful opportunity to acquire so. Accordingly, this study aims to adapt the Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) to the available information in the European Working Conditions Survey VI (EWCS-2015), and to explore the psychometric properties and construct validity of the ensuing instrument, namely EPRES-E, in Spain. 13 items sorted in six dimensions (temporariness, disempowerment, vulnerability, exercise of rights, uncertain working times and wages) shaped the EPRES-E. In a sample of 2442 formal employees residing in Spain, item- and scale-level analyses were performed alongside omega reliability coefficients and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). The scale exhibited good psychometric properties and reliability (ω = 0.80 for the EPRES-E score and near or above 0.70 for all subscales excepting “exercise of rights”). The factor structure was confirmed by CFA [χ2 (df) = 530.432 (58), p < 0.0001; CFI = 0.964; TLI = 0.951; RMSEA (95% CI) = 0.067 (0.062–0.073); all paths statistically significant]. Acceptability, however, was hampered by the large amount of non-response in the “earnings” variables (20.97%). In sum, the EPRES-E constitutes a promising instrument for the measurement of PE over time in Spain. Further studies should explore its comparability in the rest of the countries included in the EWCS as a first step towards the achievement of a European-wide monitoring system of the phenomenon." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Xavier Jara, H. & Alberto Tumino (2021): Atypical work and unemployment protection in Europe. In: Journal of Common Market Studies, Jg. 59, H. 3, S. 535-555. DOI:10.1111/jcms.13099

Abstract

"This paper evaluates the degree of income protection the tax-benefit system provides to atypical workers in the event of unemployment. Our approach relies on simulating transitions from employment to unemployment for the entire workforce in EU member states to compare household financial circumstances before and after the transition. Our results show that coverage rates of unemployment insurance are low among atypical workers, who are also more exposed to the risk of poverty, both while in work and in unemployment. Low work intensity employees are characterized by high net replacement rates. However, this is due to the major role played by market incomes of other household members. Finally, we show that in countries where self-employed workers are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, extending the eligibility to this group of workers would increase their replacement rates and make them less likely to fall into poverty in the event of unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Inanc, Hande (2020): Varieties of Precarity: How Insecure Work Manifests Itself, Affects Well-Being, and Is Shaped by Social Welfare Institutions and Labor Market Policies. In: Work and occupations, Jg. 47, H. 4, S. 504–511. DOI:10.1177/0730888420934539

Abstract

"Precarious Lives addresses one of the most important developments in employment relations in the neoliberal era: increase in labor precarity and the subsequent decline in employee well-being. Drawing on data on social welfare institutions and labor market policies in six rich democracies, the author shows that work is less precarious, and workers are happier, when institutions and policies provide job protection, and put in place support systems to buffer job loss." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Millán, Ana, José María Millán & Leonel Caçador-Rodrigues (2020): Disclosing 'masked employees' in Europe: job control, job demands and job outcomes of 'dependent self-employed workers'. In: Small business economics, Jg. 55, H. 2, S. 461-474. DOI:10.1007/s11187-019-00245-7

Abstract

"In this study, we examine whether job control, job demands and job outcomes of 'dependent self-employed workers', i.e. the workers in this particular grey zone between employment and self-employment, are more similar to those of the self-employed or paid employed. To this end, we use microdata drawn from the 2010 wave of the European Working Conditions Survey for 34 European countries. First, we develop and validate a psychometrically sound multidimensional scale for these 3 key constructs by conducting both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Then, multilevel (hierarchical) linear regressions are used to test the validity of our hypotheses. Our results suggest that these hybrid work relationships are endowed with the least favourable attributes of both groups: lower job control than self-employed workers, higher job demands than paid employees and, overall, worse job outcomes than both." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Avlijaš, Sonja (2019): The dynamism of the new economy: Non-standard employment and access to social security in EU-28. (LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 141), London, 76 S.

Abstract

"This paper examines the prevalence of non-standard workers in EU-28, rules for accessing social security, and these workers' risk of not being able to access it. It focuses on temporary and part-time workers, and the self-employed, and offers a particularly detailed analysis of their access to unemployment benefits. It focuses on eligibility, adequacy (net income replacement rates) and identifies those workers which are at the greatest risk of either not receiving benefits or receiving low benefits. It offers a special overview of foreign non-standard workers, who may be particularly vulnerable due to the absence of citizenship in the host country. The paper also analyses access to maternity and sickness benefits for these three groups of workers, as well as their access to pensions. Its key contribution is in bringing together the different dimensions of disadvantage that non-standard workers face vis-à-vis access to social protection. This allows us to comprehensively assess the adaptation of national social security systems across EU-28 to the changing world of work over the past 10 years. The paper shows that there is a lot of variation between the Member States, both in the structure of their social security systems, as well as the prevalence of non-standard work. Most notably, the paper concludes that: i) access to unemployment benefits is the most challenging component of welfare state provision for people in non-standard employment; ii) policy reforms vis-à-vis access to social benefits have improved the status of non-standard workers in several countries, while they have worsened it in others, particularly in Bulgaria, Ireland and Latvia; iii) some Eastern European countries can offer lessons to other Member States due to their experiences with labour market challenges during transition and the subsequent adaptations of their social security systems to greater labour market flexibility. The paper also implies that a country's policy towards nonstandard work" (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cruz, Irene, Oscar Molina, Joan Miquel Verd, Elma Paulauskaite, Rimantas Dumčius, Milda Venckutė, Valentina Patrini & Carlos Vacas-Soriano (2019): Labour market segmentation: Piloting new empirical and policy analyses. Labour market change. (Eurofound research report / European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions), Dublin, 88 S. DOI:10.2806/751649

Abstract

"This report sets out to describe what labour market segmentation is and why it is problematic for the labour market and society, as well as disadvantaged groups. It takes a broad view of the term to examine the situation that arises when the divergence in working conditions between different groups of workers is attributable to factors other than differentials in human capital levels. The report explores which policies or instruments are most effective in combating labour market segmentation, taking into account specific situational characteristics. The report offers a novel approach to the study of labour market segmentation that combines a quantitative empirical analysis with a policy analysis." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dimova, Dilyana (2019): The structural determinants of the labor share in Europe. (IMF working paper 2019,67), Washington, DC, 41 S.

Abstract

"The labor share in Europe has been on a downward trend. This paper finds that the decline is concentrated in manufacture and among low- to mid-skilled workers. The shifting nature of employment away from full-time jobs and a rollback of employment protection, unemployment benefits and unemployment benefits have been the main contributors. Technology and globalization hurt sectors where jobs are routinizable but helped others that require specialized skills. High-skilled professionals gained labor share driven by productivity aided by flexible work environments, while low- and mid-skilled workers lost labor share owing to globalization and the erosion of labor market safety nets." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lozano, Mariona & Elisenda Rentería (2019): Work in transition: Labour market life expectancy and years spent in precarious employment in Spain 1986-2016. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 145, H. 1, S. 185-200. DOI:10.1007/s11205-019-02091-2

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Marcu, Silvia (2019): The limits to mobility: Precarious work experiences among young Eastern Europeans in Spain. In: Environment and planning. A, Economy and space, Jg. 51, H. 4, S. 913-930. DOI:10.1177/0308518X19829085

Abstract

"This article contributes to the existing literature on the geography of mobility by examining the precarious work experiences of young people in relation to the limits to their mobility. Using 60 in-depth interviews with young immigrants from Eastern Europe who practised mobility to and from Spain, the article highlights the concern of 'limits to mobility' to show how respondents try to end their precarious work and labour instability in order to reach a stable destination. What are the limits to mobility? When is the peak reached? I argue that the limits to mobility can be explained by the interplay between the political-economic structure and people's spatiotemporal experiences. I have found three different types, depending on the life-course contexts in which young people live their limits to mobility: (1) mobility as tiredness-specific to those who have practised mobility to Spain and, after travelling, training and changing precarious jobs in several countries, try to move and settle in one place; (2) mobility as a labyrinth-situated between the fulfilment of objectives and the uncertainty of relocation; and (3) mobility as resistance to precarity through return-practised by people who migrated with their parents at an early age, who studied in Spain, but for professional reasons had to leave, and are currently either back in their countries of origin or in Spain. The limits to mobility have not as yet been researched in this way, and the findings may contribute to a refinement of the spatiotemporal framework of youth mobility." (Author's abstract, © 2019 a Pion publication) ((en))

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Mussida, Chiara & Luca Zanin (2019): Voluntary mobility of employees for better job opportunities given a temporary contract. Insights regarding an age-varying association between the two events. In: The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 1-27. DOI:10.1515/bejeap-2018-0143

Abstract

"What mechanisms govern the mobility of employees who voluntarily switch employers for better opportunities, given a temporary contract (TC)? We attempt to answer this question by exploring this issue in Southern and Central European countries. We use cross-sectional data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey for the 2005 - 2016 period. We estimate a flexible simultaneous equation model for binary responses by assuming the presence of an age-varying association between voluntary mobility and having a TC. After accounting for several socio-demographic and economic variables, we find a nonlinear decreasing relation between age and the outcomes, while we detect heterogeneous nonlinear patterns in the association between voluntary mobility and having a TC across countries. These insights can support policy-makers aiming to promote initiatives that facilitate the professional mobility of employees given a TC for an efficient allocation of human capital in the production system." (Author's abstract, © De Gruyter) ((en))