One in every 15 self-employed workers in Extremadura has another salaried job, according to data from the Ministry of Labour. UPTA warns that precariousness and low incomes force this work arrangement.
6.7% of those affiliated with the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) in Extremadura combine their self-employed activity with a salaried job. This amounts to 5,520 workers, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Labour analysed by the Economic Observatory of Self-Employment.
In the last year, the group has grown by 252 people, an increase of 4.8%. For the Union of Professionals and Self-Employed Workers (UPTA), this rise reflects that more and more workers need to combine two sources of income to meet their daily expenses.
“This is a high figure, as it represents almost 7% of the total affiliates to RETA. For UPTA, this is certainly not good news,” says Eduardo Abad, president of UPTA Spain and head of the organisation in Extremadura.
Abad links the dual activity to a combination of precariousness in certain self-employed activities and low wages in salaried employment. “We are increasingly seeing this phenomenon as something normalised,” he warns.
Extremadura ranks among the communities with the highest proportion of self-employed workers with low incomes. According to UPTA, more than 40% of self-employed workers in the region report net earnings below the minimum interprofessional wage, below 12,000 euros annually.
“More than 40% of self-employed workers in Extremadura report net earnings below the minimum interprofessional wage, that is, less than 12,000 euros a year,” Abad points out.
This situation forces part of the group to seek parallel jobs or to maintain a salaried job while developing their business. “They need to supplement their economic resources precisely because of the low incomes they have,” explains the UPTA leader.
The organisation believes that the data shows a dual reality: on one hand, there are self-employed activities that do not generate sufficient income; on the other hand, many salaried jobs also do not provide stable coverage for family expenses.
“Self-employment in certain sectors is precarious, and many of the salaried jobs available in Extremadura are manifestly insufficient in terms of salary to sustain family expenses,” Abad asserts.
UPTA relates this trend to the rising costs of housing, food, energy, and other essential goods in recent years. The organisation believes that self-employment has ceased to respond solely to an entrepreneurial vocation and has also become a way to supplement salaries or businesses that do not provide sufficient income.
The trend extends to the whole country. According to UPTA's observatory, the number of self-employed workers who combine their activity with a salaried job has increased by 56.6% since 2020, with 99,270 more people over five years.
For self-employed workers in Extremadura, dual activity has become a survival strategy in the face of insufficient income. The organisation warns that if the conditions of self-employment and salaries are not improved, this figure will continue to grow.
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