The recent strength of the labour market and its impact on workers’ consumption

Rationale Since the pandemic, the Spanish labour market has shown considerable strength, which has been conducive to a decline in the perceived probability of job loss among workers. This article evaluates the extent to which this may have had a positive impact on consumption (by reducing precaution...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Martínez Carrascal, Carmen
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Banco de España
Repositorio:Repositorio Institucional del Banco de España
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.bde.es:123456789/33413
Acceso en línea:https://repositorio.bde.es/handle/123456789/33413
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Consumption
Employment
Uncertainty
Precautionary saving
Renta, empleo y precios
Economía del consumo y del ahorro
Consumo
D12
D14
E21
Descripción
Sumario:Rationale Since the pandemic, the Spanish labour market has shown considerable strength, which has been conducive to a decline in the perceived probability of job loss among workers. This article evaluates the extent to which this may have had a positive impact on consumption (by reducing precautionary saving). Takeaways •The strength of the labour market and the rising share of permanent contracts have helped reduce workers’ perceived probability of job loss. This lowers precautionary saving and raises household spending levels •Uncertainty regarding future labour income has a particularly strong impact on spending on durable goods, and an albeit smaller impact on other non-essential expenditure. •The households whose spending on durables is most responsive to changes in uncertainty about future labour income are those that lack a minimum buffer of liquid assets to withstand a drop in income. This is observed most frequently among low-income and young households.