How bad were the 2009-2014 years in Spain, really?
Was Spain's 2009-2014 crisis as devastating as it is remembered? Car sales, evictions and emigration data examine the two sides of that period.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
2009-2014 in Spain: crushing crisis or window of opportunity?
It took more than four years to get through letter H of Spanish number plates, when the norm was two. That car sales figure reflects the economic paralysis of 2009-2014 better than any speech. Yet not everyone experienced the crisis the same way: those with cash could buy property at half price and secure their future; those relying on a precarious wage or construction faced unemployment, evictions and emigration.
The end of the bubble and mass unemployment
After the property bubble burst, the construction sector collapsed. In 2005, skilled labourers earned between €2,000 and €3,000 gross with overtime; by 2011, there were 100 applicants for any dead-end job. The savings banks, run by politicians, went under leaving a systemic hole. Courts were handling an average of two or three mortgage evictions a week, according to lawyers who dealt with foreclosures.
Emigrate or survive: two sides of the same coin
For young people with no contacts or savings, the only way out was to leave. Those who emigrated to countries like Chile or Germany found skilled work in under ten days, with salaries above Spanish levels. Others, in Spain, juggled private tutoring, selling second-hand items and collecting cans (2 cents per 5 cans) to make ends meet. The official narrative that having a job was a privilege became a tool of workplace pressure.
What is left of those years?
The debate over whether the 2009-2014 crisis was worse than the current one divides opinion. On one hand, the cost of living and access to housing are harder today; on the other, unemployment then exceeded 25% and today's mass benefits did not exist. The shared feeling is that Spain's economic model has not changed: still based on low value-added services and construction, with a political class repeating the same mistakes.
The question nobody fully answers: did Spain learn the lesson, or is the cycle repeating itself under other names?
Related forum debates
It took more than four years to get through letter H of Spanish number plates, when the norm was two. That car sales figure reflects the economic paralysis of 2009-2014 better than any speech. Yet not everyone experienced the crisis the same way: those with cash could buy property at half price and secure their future; those relying on a precarious wage or construction faced unemployment, evictions and emigration.
The end of the bubble and mass unemployment
After the property bubble burst, the construction sector collapsed. In 2005, skilled labourers earned between €2,000 and €3,000 gross with overtime; by 2011, there were 100 applicants for any dead-end job. The savings banks, run by politicians, went under leaving a systemic hole. Courts were handling an average of two or three mortgage evictions a week, according to lawyers who dealt with foreclosures.
Emigrate or survive: two sides of the same coin
For young people with no contacts or savings, the only way out was to leave. Those who emigrated to countries like Chile or Germany found skilled work in under ten days, with salaries above Spanish levels. Others, in Spain, juggled private tutoring, selling second-hand items and collecting cans (2 cents per 5 cans) to make ends meet. The official narrative that having a job was a privilege became a tool of workplace pressure.
What is left of those years?
The debate over whether the 2009-2014 crisis was worse than the current one divides opinion. On one hand, the cost of living and access to housing are harder today; on the other, unemployment then exceeded 25% and today's mass benefits did not exist. The shared feeling is that Spain's economic model has not changed: still based on low value-added services and construction, with a political class repeating the same mistakes.
The question nobody fully answers: did Spain learn the lesson, or is the cycle repeating itself under other names?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (29 replies).
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