A report warns that Lanzarote's dependence on tourism makes it "vulnerable to economic crises", while population and tourist growth increases the price of housing and affects "especially the most vulnerable layers of society". This is reflected in the study Report 4 islands 2024. Sustainability indicators, which delves into the reality of Lanzarote, La Palma, Ibiza and Menorca.
Of the 5,029 companies registered in Lanzarote in 2023, 25% corresponded to the hotel industry. Meanwhile, the service sector as a whole accounted for 86% of the total. Of the four islands analyzed, the island of Lanzarote is where the highest percentage of companies are dedicated to services.
This study reveals that the labor market on the island of volcanoes presents "high levels of precariousness and temporality". A reality that is also repeated in Ibiza and, to a lesser extent, in Menorca, with employment marked by "short-term contracts and high turnover". In Lanzarote, 89% of employment is in the service sector, which makes it "more vulnerable to fluctuations in tourist demand".
Although temporary employment has fallen especially between 2022 and 2023 thanks to reforms in labor regulations in Spain, the island still reached 41.6% of temporary contracts in 2023, only behind La Palma with 52.6%. In contrast, Ibiza and Menorca led the way in indefinite contracts per 1,000 inhabitants in that year.
Regarding the unemployment rate, Lanzarote "has shown a downward trend" and stood at 13.8% in 2023, but "remains relatively high", only below La Palma at 19.6%. The study adds that "structural challenges still exist in the labor market" of the island. Thus, this unemployment rate is more notable among women than among men.
In this sense, Lanzarote has the lowest average income of the four islands, with 12,228 net euros per year, despite registering "a growing trend". In contrast, Menorca registers the highest salary, with 15,077 euros per year; followed by Ibiza, with 14,979; and La Palma, with 12,938, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics.
This study warns that the evolution of income in Lanzarote, Menorca and Ibiza "are especially vulnerable" to global crises as happened in the pandemic.
