The determinants of young people’s access to a significant job in Spain

The aim of this study is to identify the determinants of having a significant job among young individuals in the Spanish labour market. In this segmented or dual youth labour market (significant vs. non-significant employment), we examine the recent evolution and the sectoral structure of significant employment among young people (aged 16 to 29) in Spain in the post-Covid-19 period 2021–2025. Moreover, we estimate a discrete choice model with Heckman’s correction for selection bias, assessing the probability of a young worker obtaining a significant job in that recovery period (quarterly microdata). Our results show that individual worker characteristics, labour market institutions, and regional and productive job heterogeneity largely explain why some young salaried workers hold this type of quality job. For instance, our results show that women are penalised when it comes to securing quality employment. Likewise, the 2021 labour reform is associated with a higher probability of having a significant employment, and this positive association is relatively greater for young workers than for older workers.