Changes in the employment structure in Spain along the economic cycle: Patterns of change and drivers (1995-2014)

This paper analyzes the patterns of structural change in employment along the last economic cycle in Spain (1995-2014). First, a diagnosis is performed for every stage of the cycle, finding polarization in the expansive period and upgrading in the crisis. The main causes that explain these dynamics are then explored. To do so, data from the EU-LFS and the EWCS are used and complemented with a set of task indices that enrich the diagnosis. Following a similar methodology to that used in the literature but classifying the different jobs with a new index, an alternative diagnosis of changes in employment is provided. This can be useful to enrich the debate on some key questions in the economics and social stratification fields.