Boom days for black economy

“Spain, along with Italy and Greece, leads the black economy in Europe,” announces Público. The Spanish daily cites a study by Professor Friedrich Schneider at the University of Linz (Austria) that estimates the number of workers in the black market sector at 12 to 15 million in the 30 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the crisis has apparently swelled their ranks by at least 5%. In Spain, the paper notes, the study predicts that the parallel market will grow from 18.7% to 19.5% of GDP by the end of 2009. “Nowadays there’s nothing but odd jobs and no big building sites left,” declares the spokesman for the Platform for the Associations of the Unemployed, Francisco Tejero; those “odd jobs” (plumbing, insulation, roofing etc.) in the construction sector – which have driven Spain’s economic growth in recent years – are one of the most widespread undeclared activities in the underground economy. But they pose a problem for unemployment benefits in times of crisis, as economist Florentino Felgueroso points out: “Even if you’re working illegally, why would you forego benefits?"