Social Construction of the Domestic Labor Market in Spain at the Beginning of the 21st Century

Abstract

Spain is the European Union country which has the highest number of domestic workers. It is also the place where domestic work has increased the most in recent years. Between 1998 and 2007, the growth in this labor sector has been so spectacular that the number of domestic workers even doubled. The reasons for this development can be grouped in different factors: structural factors, such as the inequality of income distribution and characteristics of the labor market; contextual factors, such as the Immigration Law and other laws of domestic work; and institutional arrangements, like the type of management that different entities perform to mediate between job demands and supplies. The empirical research on the work of mediation for accessing domestic work shows the way of construction of this labor market, in which there are practices that go beyond conventional uses. In addition to the training requirements, qualifications or experience, that are usually asked when seeking employment, it explores personal attributes or conditions outside of the work of the applicants. The formalization of the contractual relationship often depends more on these characteristics than of other professional qualities.