Job Insecurity during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

In a period in which COVID-19 began to spread quickly around the world, and the WHO had just declared a public health emergency of international concern, we examine the impact of these circumstances on perceived job insecurity in the entire population of Spain (both employed and non-employed). We also analyse the role of residential environments (urban/rural) and labour status on these job perceptions. To this end, we conducted a large-scale survey in Spain just before and after the nationwide lockdown was implemented on March 14, 2020, and a law with extraordinary urgent measures to address the economic, labour, and social impact was passed on March 17, 2020 (ERTE in Spanish). Our results show that the lockdown increased job insecurity for individuals not in paid employment but that these perceptions were fully offset by the new law. Regarding the role of place of residence, living in rural areas increased perceived job insecurity for females in paid employment, individuals with children not in paid employment, middle-aged individuals either in paid or unpaid employment, and young individuals not in paid employment, although at different points of time. However, for males in paid employment and older individuals not in paid employment, living in rural areas was accompanied by lower perceived job insecurity. Finally, towns and suburbs also played a role in feelings of job insecurity but only for middle-aged (higher insecurity) and older individuals (lower insecurity).