The new IVIE document addresses the impact of the coronavirus on the self-employed. According to estimates made by the Valencian Institute of Economic Research, each month of paralysis of the economy could mean a drop in the annual affiliation of self-employed workers of between 5.1% and 6.7% , taking into account a base scenario and an adverse one, respectively.

To alleviate the effects of the crisis, professionals registered in the self-employed regime request total exemption from Social Security contributions Phone Number List while the alarm situation lasts, a measure that would entail an expense of 117.2 million euros per month for the administration, in the case of the Valencian Community.

However, the IVIE proposes other alternatives that compensate for the specific losses of each self-employed person depending on their situation. In the opinion of these experts, the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the self-employed may be especially serious because their concentration in intensely affected activities is notable, because their average income is low and their financial vulnerability is greater, and because their contribution base is eligible, they generally have less coverage than employed workers.

The self-employed group in the Valencian Community was made up of 351,182 people in February 2020, according to the statistics of affiliation to the special regime for these Social Security workers, and more than half are concentrated in activities highly affected by the crisis, such as vehicle trade and repair, hospitality and artistic and recreational activities.

If the current reductions in activity were to occur and their impact on employment were proportional to them for an entire year - something highly unlikely, according to the IVIE -, the fall in employment of the self-employed would rise to 61.1% in the year. base scenario (214,407) and 80.8% in the adverse scenario (283,831).



However, the drop in activity does not necessarily have to mean a drop in membership of the self-employed, because if it is sensed that the effect of the crisis is going to be limited in time, they will make an effort to maintain their membership, always at their discretion. of IVIE researchers. But the transition to a situation of cessation of activity may be inevitable in some cases, even in the short term, and in others it may mean layoffs among the self-employed workers.

In conclusion, it is considered that " the potential effect of Covid-19 on this group as a whole will depend on the duration of the crisis, the activity of each subsector and the financial resistance capacity of each self-employed person.