Spain: Growing weight of Social economy

Fundación Bip Bip ? 23 May 2006 The Fundación ONCE (Foundation for the Blind) has presented a study about the weight within the global economy of the social activities carried out by the organisations which belong to the third sector with a view to the institutional recognition of the sector. If the Public Administration had to cover the social services delivered by social economy organisations it would have to create 320,000 new jobs. But the weight of social economy within the global economy is still higher, given that 6,9% of salaried workers are employed in the third sector, a percentage which rises to 9,7% if volunteers are included. According to this study, social economy is not only relevant from the quantitative point of view but also from a qualitative point of view: it is the forefront of a true welfare society. In comparison with national global figures, it is well over the average in terms of employing women, young and disabled people. In addition, its economic contribution amounts to 31,000 million Euro, nearly 5% of the Gross Domestic Product. The weakest point of social economy is its dependence on public subsidies and according to this study the only way to reduce it is by increasing the income derived from its activities. More information on: www.fundacionbip-bip.org