Transitions to female-headed households in times of economic expansion and crisis: the case of Latin-American migrants in Spain

Elena Vidal-Coso, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Xiana Bueno, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Female Latin-American flows in Spain are highly related to the labor demand for domestic workers and care-givers. The main aim of this research is to analyze the prevalence, evolution and composition of Latin-American economically female-headed households in Spain and how they are facing the current economic crisis. Preliminary results suggest that unemployment is affecting men more so than women. As a result there is an increase in female-headed households. We will use data from the Spanish Labor Force Survey (SLFS) between 2005 and 2012. Female-headed households are defined as those nuclear households where women serve as the unique working member. We will explore how these household structures are, its changes in parallel with the economic context, and its socio-demographic and labor market characteristics. Additionally, we will longitudinally explore transitions from husband-wife households to female single parent households, and transitions from households where two-parent work to households maintained exclusively by women.