go to the original language article
Madrid – The labor force participation rate of foreigners residing in Spain is one of the highest in the European Union and, unlike in other countries, higher than that of nationals, contributing to a greater extent to the increase in the labor supply.
This is according to the report published by the Bank of Spain under the title ‘A characterization of migration flows to Spain and other European Union countries’, which indicates that in 2023 the labor market participation rate of foreigners residing in Spain (78%) was one of the highest in the EU, above those observed in Germany (73%), Italy (71%), and France (70%).
Furthermore, unlike what occurs in most EU countries, where the participation rate of foreigners is lower than that of nationals, in Spain and Italy this rate is higher than that of nationals, although this positive differential has been narrowing since 2008.
Thus, considering that a high percentage of migrants arriving in Spain are of working age and that their activity rate, in addition to being among the highest among surrounding countries, is higher than that of natives, it can be deduced that foreigners contribute to increasing the labor supply in Spain to a greater extent than in other EU countries.
Recently, the contribution of foreigners to the dynamism of employment has been very important in several European countries. Spain stands out among these, where foreign-born workers contributed 2.3 percentage points to the total increase in registered employment in 2023, compared to 1.3 points in the Netherlands and 1 point in Germany.
The Bank of Spain report explains that foreign workers tend to concentrate in activities that do not require high levels of education, although recently there are indications of a shift to more highly skilled sectors.
In fact, since 2008 there has been an increase in the percentage of foreigners moving into higher-skilled activities and a reduction in the proportion employed in low-skilled sectors.
For example, between 2008 and 2022, the percentage of newly arrived foreigners in Spain – with one year or less of residence – employed in communications increased (from 2% to 12%), manufacturing (from 5% to 11%), trade (from 12% to 17%), health and social services (from 1.6% to 3.3%), while it decreased for those employed in domestic services (from 22% to 9%) and hospitality (from 13% to 8%).
In Spain, immigrants mainly come from Latin America, making them a more homogeneous and culturally closer group to the destination country than those heading to other European countries. In general, they are older and more educated, and there is a greater presence of women. (August 7)