35.5% of self-employed workers in the Canary Islands believe that their activity will remain the same during this year, compared to 28% who expect to grow and 22% who foresee a worsening. Employment remains stable, but hiring remains difficult. 42.4% of the group points to the establishment of specific incentives and bonuses for hiring the first employee as a priority, thus facilitating business growth.
So reveals the latest Barometer of the Self-Employed Worker corresponding to the first quarter of 2026, prepared by the Association of Self-Employed Workers of the Canary Islands, and which analyzes the current situation of this group. In addition, it includes a survey, which is carried out quarterly, that offers an updated radiography of the reality that the group is going through in the Archipelago.
The Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy, Industry, Commerce and Self-Employed, Manuel Domínguez, highlights that measures such as those included in the Plan Respaldo Autónomo aimed at hiring and family reconciliation, "undoubtedly contribute to alleviating the hiring problems" of the self-employed collective.
Likewise, the increase in costs continues to have an important impact on businesses. 74.3% of self-employed workers state that their expenses have increased in the last 12 months. Among them, 57.1% place this increase above 10%. Furthermore, 76.6% have had to raise prices since March 2025 to try to preserve the viability of their projects, and three out of four professionals expect this dynamic to continue during the current fiscal year. The perception of instability is practically unanimous. Almost 9 out of 10 self-employed workers consider that the central government's measures are insufficient or lack a specific focus for their reality.
Among the most urgent demands are the reduction of bureaucracy (45.7%), the exemption from IGIC for those who invoice less than 85,000 euros (45.1%), and the reduction of bureaucracy in the filing of tax forms. Furthermore, as institutional priorities, incentives for hiring and business growth (51.6%) and the promotion of work-life balance and the well-being of the self-employed (46.7%) stand out. In short, the group prioritizes measures that facilitate hiring, work-life balance, and access to financing in order to grow.
In this regard, Domínguez assured that the policies of the Government of the Canary Islands “are aligned” with the demands of the self-employed and mentioned the upcoming calls for the Concilia and +uno52 programs, as well as Temporary Incapacity, which allows for the payment of Social Security contributions during the first two months of leave. Furthermore, he recalled that the regional Executive has raised the IGIC franchise threshold for small business owners and professionals to 50,000 euros of annual turnover, with the aim of “alleviating fiscal and bureaucratic burdens and supporting self-employed individuals with smaller economic dimensions”. The measure places the Canary Islands as the only autonomous community that applies the franchise provided for in European VAT regulations for small business owners. The Government anticipates that up to 11,000 self-employed workers in the Canary Islands could benefit.
The vice president of the Canary Islands government highlighted that from the reading of this barometer, the capacity for "resilience and reinvention of this group, which not only grows but also evolves," is concluded. 56.9% of those surveyed started their activity out of a desire to launch their own project. Domínguez emphasized the importance of this barometer, which takes a "snapshot" of the real needs of this group "and gives us, as we have done so far, the capacity to respond to their demands."
