The first Economic Observatory ofwhich has developed the Union of Autonomous Workers and Professionals (UPTA) surveying more than 2,000 indicates that eight out of ten of these employed (84%) improved or, at least, maintained their turnover during the first semester of this year compared to the same period of 2024.
Specifically, 64% said they increased their sales, something that concentrated especially in sectors such as hospitality, personal services, repairs, plumbing or electricity. To these are added another 20% that claimed to have maintained their turnover at levels higher than those of the same months of the previous year. These were registered more generalized in the activities related to the food trade, where, according to the report of this observatory, “sales seem to have stagnated.”
Worse unemployed were 16% of respondents who claimed to have decreased their sales between January and June of this year. Many of them were especially in the textile sector, which for UPTA is among those that presents more difficulties.
These are accompanied by employment gains. This is attest to the official figures for affiliation to Social Security that indicate that in this first semester of the year there were more than 40,000 compared to a loss of about 35,000 affiliates of this group in the first semester of 2024.
According to these answers and despite the sectorial contrasts regarding the progress of the activity, the global perception of these workers before the closest future is positive: 70% of respondents believe that the year will close with better figures than in 2024, compared to 20% who believe it will go worse and 10% that provides for a similar situation.
For this association, “the data confirms a generalized economic recovery in the group, but also reveal that the structural concerns of self -employed workers are maintained, especially in relation to the high fiscal burden and social unprotection.”
The complaints
In fact, beyond the evolution of the activity, this barometer of the economic climate lived by the self -employed points to several historical concerns of the collective: 80% of those consulted consider that their main problem is the “fiscal asphyxiation.” This complaint has been referred to a greater extent by self -employed natural persons, which, according to UPTA, “support high tax levels without benefits comparable to salaried workers,” they denounce from UPTA.
In addition, 10% have denounced poor social protection, highlighting cases such as temporary disabilities, during which these professionals have to continue facing the expenses of their work such as the rental of premises or supplies. Also, 5% have indicated as the main problem the high social security contributions, which they consider disproportionate and unjustified. And another 5% points to political instability, as a risk factor for the economy as a whole.
This leads to the president of UPTA, Eduardo Abad, to ensure that “a deep fiscal reform for the group and an improvement in social protection that equates the rights of the collective with workers’ rights is unstoppable. This is our premise and we will continue working hard to get it.”
Next negotiation
The government just around the summer to initiate negotiations on its social security contribution regime according to its real income, whose next phase is pending to develop.
The Ministries of Finance and Social Security have just completed the first regularization of social contributions of the self -employed that premiered in 2023 a new quota system, which since then are set based on real income (declared) by these professionals. This new system established a series of quotation sections according to each other’s income, which the Executive agreed with the autonomous associations for the 2023-2025 period, which now concludes, after the first regularization has already occurred.
Now, the second phase of implantation of quotes according to real income of self -employed will occur, in principle until 2032, unless the parties negotiate a lower period to make it more progressive. Moreover, the Secretary of State for Social Security, Borja Suárez, confirmed this week that the intention of his department is to propose, in this next negotiation table with the self -employed, changes in their social protection and, particularly, under the conditions of the provision due to cessation of activity (comparable to the unemployment provision of the employees) and that is recognized to a very small percentage of workers.
