Spain's self-employed hit record despite rising precariousness

Record number of freelancers in Spain: entrepreneurship or hidden precariousness?

In January 2026, official figures marked a new record for RETA (Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers) registrants, with over 3.4 million freelancers in Spain. However, behind the aggregate lies an unequal reality: growth is concentrated in just four regions (Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Valencian Community), while traditional sectors such as Basque commerce lose 7,500 freelancers in a decade. The debate focuses not on the number, but on the nature of this increase.

The RETA paradox: more freelancers, less relative weight

Since 2012, the share of self-employed workers in total employment has fallen to 15.7%, according to Social Security data. In other words, although the absolute number grows, wage employment grows faster. This dismantles the narrative of an unstoppable freelance economy. What does grow is externalized precariousness: companies use false freelancers to avoid labor costs, especially in construction, delivery, consulting and digital platforms.

Flat rate: twelve-month subsidy, lifetime precariousness

Public aid, such as the flat rate of 80 euros per month during the first year, encourages new freelancer registrations. But, as argued in the analysis, many do not survive the second fiscal year. When the subsidy ends, contributions skyrocket and the business often becomes unviable. The result is constant turnover of freelancers who do not consolidate activity, while companies save on permanent contracts.

The false freelancer as the new proletariat

The figure of the false freelancer has become normalized: no paid holidays, no sick leave, no severance pay. A freelancer suffering a non-work accident receives around 400 euros in benefits, but then must pay the 300-euro contribution, leaving barely 100 euros to live on. This system shifts risk onto the worker, who assumes volatility while the company gains flexibility and the State collects contributions without having to pay unemployment benefits.

The debate leaves an open question: how long will this model last if the sectors that sustain it (construction, delivery, consulting) stall? Meanwhile, the record number of freelancers is also a record for precariousness disguised as entrepreneurship.

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