Decomposition of unemployment in Spain 1980-2019: Evolution of structural unemployment

This paper provides an estimation of the structural component of the Spain's persistently high unemployment over 1980-2019. Using an innovative approach, unemployment is decomposed into frictional, structural, and cyclical components. Frictional unemployment is estimated through stochastic frontier analysis, while regression techniques and time series filters determine structural and cyclical components. The methodology overcomes limited long-term data by standardizing job vacancies and projecting employment trends backward. Findings reveal structural unemployment as the dominant factor, shedding light on Spain's chronic unemployment challenges and providing a foundation for further exploration of underlying causes.