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Lockdown reduces travel for work reasons by 62.3% but this reduction only accounts for 18.7% of total movements

Restrictions on mobility to control the spread of the coronavirus epidemic are proving to be highly effective. As a result of the Spanish Royal Decree of 14 March 2020, non-work related movements in Spain have decreased by 90%, while work related movements have been reduced by 62.3%, due to remote working and a second decree that further restricted work travel. However, work related travel accounts for only 30% of total travel outside the home, which means that this reduction only accounts for 18.7% of total movements. The remaining 11.3% of movements correspond to authorized workers performing essential services.

Specifically, further travel restrictions introduced in the second Royal Decree of 29 March 2020 have affected 26.2% of work related movements, but only reduce total mobility by 7.9%. In other words, these constraints have a more serious effect on income and employment than on people’s movements. Therefore, while these restrictions are necessary to fight the coronavirus epidemic, people should be allowed to return to their jobs as soon as possible to minimize the risks of an economic recession.