Baleares has a record number of freelancers

Balearics are registering record numbers of self-employed people or freelancers.

According to the National Federation of Freelancers, (or ATA in Spain), over 120,000 new members have joined the Special Regimen of Self-Employed Workers. Moreover, over  a third of them are classified as societario – referring to a self-employed person who has created a company or an otherwise different type of legal business structure. This makes the Baleares the third region with the highest number of self-employed people. societarios In Spain, it is right behind Basque Country.

What could be the cause of this shift in trend? The president of the ATA, Luis García, attributes it to policies such as the zero-fee quota for new entrepreneurs, which encourages people to register as freelance by absolving them of having to pay the monthly social security fee. Moreover, to promote longevity, the government provides assistance to experienced freelancers that have been in business for at least 36 months.

José Antonio Caldés, general director of Business, Self-Employment and Trade for the government of the Balearic region, is also excited to see this dramatic growth, and has announced a plan to create a grant for business to hire the first young, qualified employee and further incentivise the growth of small businesses.