The 2022 labour market reform in economic perspective

Abstract

This article tries to catch a glimpse of the future of the Spanish labour market that may be conditioned by the application of the labour reform approved by Parliament at the beginning of the year 2022. The reform is supposed to affect the regulatory institutions of this market and, therefore, it can be expected that it will introduce transformations in the behaviour of the socioeconomic agents that operate in it and, by extension, in its future dynamics.
First, some basic premises for such an analysis are established. Next, the trajectory of the Spanish labour reforms is briefly reviewed, trying to identify its substantial elements. And, thirdly, considering the most outstanding contents of the 2022 reform, its instruments are analysed together with the quantitative evolution of the variables in recent years, to foresee possible changes in trends due to the modifications introduced in this labour regulation. Finally, the article summarises the results achieved and provides some considerations on the possible impact of the reform on the future dynamics of the Spanish labour market.