Spain’s self-employed are working — and still falling into poverty

UPTA says around 795,413 self-employed workers are surviving on €670 a month or less — roughly a quarter of those registered in the RETA system. This level of income is quickly wiped out once you pay for rent, a mortgage or other expenses like electricity, petrol, food, insurance and insurance.

UPTA also points to a wider band of fragility: more than one million autónomos declaring net monthly earnings below €900. It’s not “extra income”. This is people who are trying to live on amounts that are often uncomfortably near the minimum required to make it through a given month.

Risk is something that no one budgets.

For employees, a bad month might mean cutting back. For many autónomos, it can mean falling behind. The risk is often solely carried by self-employed people: there are no guaranteed hours or wage rises and they don’t have any cushion against illness, van breakdowns, late payment of clients, or unexpected family expenses.

Here, self-employment ceases to be a source of freedom and becomes a threat. One surprise can easily tip you into debt when you are already working close to the edge.

“Tarifa plana” helps you start — but it can’t make you profitable

Spain’s Social Security system does offer a reduced start for many new autónomos. Importass, the official platform of Social Security, allows users to access the system. tarifa plana is described as an €80 monthly fee for the first 12 months, with conditions and possible extensions in some cases.

Making the transition is easier. But UPTA is blunt in its criticism: incentives can encourage people to start their own business before they have a customer base that’s stable, pricing that’s realistic, or enough profit margin to cover quiet periods. You can “be successfully registered” but still be financially failing.

A system built on estimates — and corrected later

Since the reform tied to Real Decreto-ley 13/2022, autónomos choose contribution bases linked to expected net earnings, with later adjustments once real figures are known. Social Security has a simulator that allows workers to estimate their contribution.

Theoretically, this is more fair than a “one-size-fits all” approach. In practice, low earnings still collide with unavoidable costs — and the “working poor” reality can remain even when someone is doing everything right.

Why people are stuck

It’s not as easy as closing a laptop to close a business. This can make you feel like a failure. This can be a sign of losing your identity, your routine, or the hope that next month will “be better”. There is no easy way back to a salaried job for some people, especially if they have spent years away from the traditional market.

UPTA wants more than just warnings. It wants to provide practical guidance including support for retraining, and assistance in the transition from self-employment into paid employment once it is no longer viable.

What this means for Spain’s economy

Spain celebrates entrepreneurship often as a way to combat unemployment, rural decline and the lack of stable employment in certain sectors. But if a sizeable share of autónomos are earning poverty-level incomes, the model starts to look less like empowerment and more like a pressure valve.

The message is simple: self-employment should be encouraged. Fixing the conditions that make it precarious — weak demand, late payments, micro-business fragility, uneven skills support, and thin safety nets — is much harder.

Reality check for 2026

Self-employment shouldn’t mean having to choose between buying groceries and paying for Social Security. But that’s the situation many find themselves in.

UPTA’s figures are a warning light: if Spain wants a healthier small-business economy, the goal cannot be “more autónomos”. It has to be more sustainable autónomos — with realistic pathways to decent earnings, or dignified exits when the numbers simply do not add up.

Sources:

UPTA, Social Security