Six in ten young Spaniards quit permanent jobs with nothing lined up
60% of young workers leaving permanent contracts in Spain resign voluntarily, even without another job to go to. Low wages and expensive housing are behind the trend.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Six in ten young Spaniards quit permanent jobs with nothing lined up
Jorge, 26, a waiter on a permanent contract at a Madrid restaurant, handed in his resignation last month. He had no other job waiting. "On €1,200 a month, after paying €700 rent for a room, I couldn't even afford the transport pass," he explains. His case is not an isolated one. A report by Infobae reveals that 60% of young workers leaving permanent contracts resign voluntarily, and they do so, on average, 50 days sooner than a few years ago.
Why leave if you have a permanent job?
Spain's 2022 labour reform reduced temporary employment, but not dissatisfaction. Young workers with permanent contracts are leaving their jobs faster than before. The argument that young people would rather live off their parents clashes with the numbers: the average net salary for under-30s is around €1,100-1,200, while the average rent for a room in Madrid exceeds €600. "You can't live in Madrid on €600 a month for part-time work," notes one cost analysis. The maths doesn't add up: working to be poor doesn't pay off.
The debate over motivation
One school of thought holds that young people have lost the work ethic, that they live "off the state" subsidised by their parents. They cite cases of perpetual civil-service exam candidates or heirs to flats who think "hustling is for suckers". But against that, most analyses point to a structural problem: wages that don't cover basic needs, unaffordable housing and jobs with no future. "Between being poor without working and being poor while working, better the former," sums up a private-sector veteran who ended up in the public sector.
The Constitution and a living wage
It has been pointed out that Article 35 of the Spanish Constitution establishes the right to sufficient remuneration to meet the needs of workers and their families. And Article 47 enshrines the right to decent housing. "We can stretch the definition of needs like chewing gum, but the reality is that on today's wages, a young person cannot move out," notes one participant. The SMI (Spain's statutory minimum wage) of €1,134 gross in 14 payments — about €960 net — falls short in cities like Madrid or Barcelona.
The unsettling figure: six in ten young people who leave their permanent jobs do so without having another one secured. In other words, they prefer unemployment to staying in a job that doesn't pay enough to live on. The question is not why they leave, but why they put up with it for so long.
Related debates in the forum
Jorge, 26, a waiter on a permanent contract at a Madrid restaurant, handed in his resignation last month. He had no other job waiting. "On €1,200 a month, after paying €700 rent for a room, I couldn't even afford the transport pass," he explains. His case is not an isolated one. A report by Infobae reveals that 60% of young workers leaving permanent contracts resign voluntarily, and they do so, on average, 50 days sooner than a few years ago.
Why leave if you have a permanent job?
Spain's 2022 labour reform reduced temporary employment, but not dissatisfaction. Young workers with permanent contracts are leaving their jobs faster than before. The argument that young people would rather live off their parents clashes with the numbers: the average net salary for under-30s is around €1,100-1,200, while the average rent for a room in Madrid exceeds €600. "You can't live in Madrid on €600 a month for part-time work," notes one cost analysis. The maths doesn't add up: working to be poor doesn't pay off.
The debate over motivation
One school of thought holds that young people have lost the work ethic, that they live "off the state" subsidised by their parents. They cite cases of perpetual civil-service exam candidates or heirs to flats who think "hustling is for suckers". But against that, most analyses point to a structural problem: wages that don't cover basic needs, unaffordable housing and jobs with no future. "Between being poor without working and being poor while working, better the former," sums up a private-sector veteran who ended up in the public sector.
The Constitution and a living wage
It has been pointed out that Article 35 of the Spanish Constitution establishes the right to sufficient remuneration to meet the needs of workers and their families. And Article 47 enshrines the right to decent housing. "We can stretch the definition of needs like chewing gum, but the reality is that on today's wages, a young person cannot move out," notes one participant. The SMI (Spain's statutory minimum wage) of €1,134 gross in 14 payments — about €960 net — falls short in cities like Madrid or Barcelona.
The unsettling figure: six in ten young people who leave their permanent jobs do so without having another one secured. In other words, they prefer unemployment to staying in a job that doesn't pay enough to live on. The question is not why they leave, but why they put up with it for so long.
Related debates in the forum
- Major study reveals Spanish youth show little willingness to defend their country against a military attack · 285 replies
- Increasingly confirmed: European Commissioner acknowledges Spain's government manipulates unemployment figures · 206 replies
- Brutal and devastating (like the reality of any young Spaniard) · 16 replies
- Another effect of the invasion: unemployment benefits and other aid start being cut across Europe. The freeloaders expect to live without working. · 25 replies
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (86 replies).
More summaries
-
Spain loses 272,172 jobs in 24 hours—a record since the reform
Social Security records its largest single-day drop in affiliates since the labor reform: 272,172 jobs destroyed. Is it seasonality or collapse?
-
Judge Biedma seeks to join as private prosecutor in PSOE sewer case
Judge Beatriz Biedma petitions to join the PSOE sewer case as a private prosecutor, alleging the group contacted Badajoz drug traffickers to threaten her safety.
-
Ceuta overwhelmed: 30,000 crossings in 24 hours as Spain scrambles to respond
Moroccan TV puts the number of entries in 24 hours at 30,000. Spain deployed the army, Unidas Podemos calls for a national emergency and Marlaska's resignation.
-
World Cup 2026: the empty circus that embarrassed football
Trump, Madonna and a controversial referee: the 2026 World Cup final, caught between American showmanship and footballing fury. 13 minutes of kicks and a show that...
-
EU slaps tariffs on AliExpress: double standards or pragmatism?
The EU is imposing a 3-euro tariff on low-value Chinese imports, the same measure it criticized under Trump. Double standards or necessity?
-
Cintora's crude remark reignites the debate over Spain's RTVE
Jesús Cintora's vulgar remark reopens the debate over the cost and quality of Spain's RTVE: 1,000 euros per Spaniard per year, according to its critics.