• According to data published last Monday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, over the course of the year, the group added 39,002 more working people (+1.15%), consolidating a trend of sustained growth within a context of labor market growth, which added 506,451 workers at the close of 2025, while unemployment fell by 152,048 people.

• According to the union, the close of the financial year confirms the strength of employment, but forces us to “look under a magnifying glass at what type of growth is occurring and who is sustaining it.”

The general secretary of Uatae, María José Landaburu, has warned that the increase in the number of affiliations outlines “an encouraging end to the year,” but the challenge now lies in “ensuring that this growth translates into decent and sustainable employment,” since self-employment often continues to function as “a precarious refuge in the absence of stable alternatives.”

The organization has warned about the different realities behind the aggregate figure: self-employed workers without employees, irregular income, long working hours, and social protection that “clearly remains below that of salaried work.”

Furthermore, “difficulties in accessing the cessation of activity, the absence of assistance subsidies, and a contribution system that has not yet fully aligned with real income” persist, according to Landaburu, who stresses that the model must guarantee “stability, protection, and rights,” so that those who undertake business can do so “without falling into permanent precariousness.”

For Uatae, the challenge for 2026 is both “to maintain the positive trend” and to take advantage of it to address “the pending reforms of the RETA,” and move towards a “truly fair” contribution, “reinforce social protection, and leave behind the logic of self-employment as a forced exit.”

Source: EuropaPress