The social company in Spain: special employment centres

Abstract

The dramatic raise of the unemployment figures, registered after the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008, have promoted the growth of social economy companies. Those companies appear as an instrument to generate employment, promoting the entrepreneurial spirit, and improving the productive framework. Among them, the Special Employment Centres stand out. Their objective is to ease the introduction of people with disabilities in the regular work market. Despite their growth during the last years, there is still a lack of knowledge about the work done by these companies. For that reason, the present paper has done a study regarding the current state of companies based on social economy, specifying the Special Employment Centres’ characteristics and evolution, as well as an analysis of their contribution to the economy and the collective of people with disabilities.