Unemployment and labor migration in rural Galicia (Spain)

• Published in: Dialectical anthropology Vol. 37; no. 3/4; pp. 401 - 421
• Main Author: Roseman, Sharon R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01.12.2013; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescents; Adults; Analysis; Anthropology; Buses; Capitalism; Commuting; Employment; Europe; European Union; Galician; Households; Labor; Labor force; Labor market; Labor markets; Labor migration; Labour migration; Labour mobility; Migration; Resistance movements; Rural areas; Scott, James C; Social Sciences; Spain; Special Theme Focus - Dialectics of Migration (Part 1); Unemployment; Wages; Workers; Young adults; Galicia Spain; Spain; Rural; Unemployment; Labor migration; Surplus labor; Galicia; Spain
• ISSN: 0304-4092; 1573-0786
• DOI: 10.1007/s10624-013-9319-9

This article focuses on the difficulty of entering into—and literally getting back and forth to—the waged labor market for adolescent and young adult workers from rural parts of Galicia, a region that has experienced a prolonged history of persistently high levels of unemployment. Unemployment is one of the most serious issues facing Spain, other countries of the EU, and states all over the world. In Spain, for the population of workers under 30, this problem is at staggeringly high levels that have reached 50 % plus in the last few years of the current crisis but has been longstanding. So, too, has labor migration to and from rural Galician households. This article takes a broad approach to the analysis of labor mobility, including daily commuting as well as longer distance and longer duration labor migration. It considers the role of state and EU policies over time in instituting, supporting, or discouraging different geographical trajectories and forms of movement for young adult "wage seekers" from rural Galician households.