The Governor of Banco de España meets with undergraduate and graduate students from CUNEF Universidad

The Governor of Banco de España, Pablo Hernández de Cos, met with undergraduate and graduate students from CUNEF Universidad. During the event, he analysed the most recent developments and future challenges of the job market. In his opening speech, the Governor highlighted nine stylised facts that have influenced the recent evolution of the job market in Spain:

1. The resilience shown by employment despite the shocks that have impacted economic activity.
2. The fact that the number of hours worked have grown much less than the number of people employed.
3. The good relative performance of employment, which is translating into a very weak performance of apparent labour productivity.
4. The resilience of employment over the last few years, which has been relatively mixed by industry.
5. The strong recovery of the labour force participation rate in recent years, following the declines observed during COVID.
6. The significant drop in unemployment in the aftermath of the pandemic, which has led to record lows in unemployment in many advanced economies.
7. The tension in the job market in Spain where, despite the high unemployment rates, some job vacancies remain unfilled.
8. The significant reduction in temporary employment rates, linked to the labour reform approved in 2021.
9. The moderate growth in wages agreed in collective bargaining, which has led to a higher increase in unit labour costs versus our European peers, and in turn to a loss of price competitiveness in the economy.

Pablo Hernández de Cos stressed that addressing future economic policy challenges requires ambitious reforms, which include improving the institutional framework of the labour market, modernising active and passive employment policies, reforming the education system, adapting migration policies to the new demographic context and aligning social protection programmes with the new technological and demographic context. The meeting with the Governor, held in the Auditorium of the Almansa Campus, was one of the many events organised by CUNEF to commemorate its 50th anniversary.