The Spanish government has accepted proposals to extend the areas in which temporary employees can work.

Prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's sub-committee on labor market affairs has backed plans to allow the employment of temporary workers in the Mediterranean country's construction industry and within public sector administration.

However, these proposals, which adhere to a European Union (EU) directive, will not pass straight into Spanish law as the amendments to labor market legislation will need to be approved by the upper house of parliament, Staffing Industry Analysts reported.

Spain entered the economic downturn with the highest rate of temporary employment of any country in the EU, according to the region's data agency Eurostat.

This allowed employers to reduce workforces easily, but has led to a rise in the national unemployment rate, which reached 19.2 per cent in August.

In 2008, around a third of those employed in Spain were in temporary work, according to the Organization of Economic Development and Cooperation.