31,000 over-40s in Spain seeking their first ever job: myths and realities

31,000 over-40s seeking their first ever job: a portrait of a Spain that doesn't add up

How is it possible to reach your forties without having ever paid a single day of social security contributions? According to data from Vozpópuli, 31,000 people over 40 are currently registered as seeking their first job in Spain, almost 10% of the 315,000 unemployed who have never worked. The figure invites the question: who are they and how did they get here?

Far from the stereotype of the chronic 'NEET', the profiles are varied: former civil service exam candidates who spent years preparing for Spain's competitive public exams without success, women who prioritised raising children or family care, people who have worked in the informal economy and now want to regularise their situation, and even some who, having lived off family money, are facing a reality they can no longer dodge.

The clash with the labour market

Job hunting at 40 with no prior experience is a heavy burden. Companies demand a track record, and job offers for junior profiles are aimed at people in their twenties. Those who try describe a Kafkaesque loop: you have to register as unemployed to qualify for benefits, but 'active job seeking' becomes a mere bureaucratic formality. "I haven't worked in ten years, I'm on parole... Do you really think anyone is going to hire me?", one testimony recounts. The employment counsellor's reply: "Yes, yes, but the form has to be filled in".

The mirage of small benefits

Part of the debate points out that many register only to access the Ingreso Mínimo Vital (Spain's minimum income scheme) or transport subsidies. It's hard to believe anyone would prefer a life on benefits, but pension calculations add another layer: the pension base is calculated using the last 25 years of contributions, and those who have been outside the system know their future pension will be minimal. However, the legislation changes frequently, and what is a rule today may be different tomorrow.

Immigration and unfilled vacancies: the contradiction

While 31,000 over-40s seek their first job, Spain is "top in unemployment, top in immigration, top in unfilled vacancies", as one analysis points out. There are sectors – hospitality, agriculture, delivery – that cannot find workers, and migrant labour is brought in. The paradox is that many of those jobs are precarious, with split shifts and low wages, which discourages those who could otherwise opt for an equivalent benefit. Eliminating the small benefits would push many into the job market, say some; others reply that full employment would depress business profits by pushing up wages.

What about pensions?

The pension calculation period has gone from the last 2 years to 25, and is projected to reach 29. Those who have never contributed are hoping the law keeps changing, but the trend is towards a longer calculation period. Those who have spent decades without working face retirement on the minimum benefit, unless they manage to accumulate 15 years of contributions. A bleak horizon.

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In the end, the image of the 'lazy forty-something' clashes with that of those facing a job market that doesn't want them. The data are stubborn: 31,000 people. Many of them, perhaps, would rather keep dreaming of a job that never comes. Or maybe the dream is something else.