We particularly need to strengthen active employment policies to provide the right guidance and training to those who have lost their jobs, thus improving their employability. Another differential characteristic of the Spanish labour market is the high proportion of temporary employment, higher than in any other euro area country. This means that when there is a recession, temporary employees are the first to lose their jobs, which is usually exacerbated by the fact that these individuals belong to vulnerable groups. The harmful effects of temporary employment extend to productivity growth. Resolving this problem calls for changes to hiring mechanisms, so that firing costs differences may be reduced between permanent and temporary contracts, without harming job creation capacity. As well as correcting the structural shortcomings, we must tackle the medium-term challenges, including most notably those stemming from population ageing, climate change and inequality. The rise in the demographic dependency ratio, which will foreseeably double in the coming decades, will exert a significant impact on the economy and, in particular, rising pressure on pension spending. The 2011 and 2013 reforms helped ease these pressures. But the decision to link pensions once again to the CPI will mean additional compensatory measures will have to be taken. There are three parameters within which action can be taken: revenue, expenditure and retirement age. The scale of the problem advises diversifying the measures with broad and stable agreements.
Governance of the information that firms have on customers is a particularly important issue. It appears reasonable that, if it is considered necessary for this information to be available to all operators, such an obligation should have no exceptions, and that its scope should be clear, always observing customer rights. BigTech also exerts pressure on the sector’s profitability, which is already weakened by the impact of the pandemic and by developments in the wake of the global financial crisis. To improve matters, banks should pursue efficiency gains, cutting costs and using new technologies more intensively. In particular, they should refine the use of the information they have, which enables them to improve their business model without raising their risk profile. Consolidation processes may also be useful, though an evaluation of the merits of each proposal is needed, particularly regarding the impact on financial stability. European transnational operations would be particularly positive, given that they would help further the Banking Union. As you can see, the to-do list is an ambitious one, given both the number of tasks and how demanding they are. This is why we must set to work as soon as possible, mindful that the rewards are substantial. Accomplishing these tasks is a job for all of us: authorities, legislators, firms and citizens. We can all contribute to reducing uncertainty when it comes to foreseeing how the future will be.