The labor market in Spain

The unemployment rate in Spain, in spite of a decrease in recent years, remains relatively high compared to other European countries and tends to start rising again in early 2009. However, some economic sectors still offer professional opportunities for foreigners, including marketing, import- export, professorship, translation, IT and new technologies.  

You'd better be fully prepared to seek for employment in Spain and have solid professional and language skills!

Fluency in Spanish is often an essential prerequisite to get a job, except in some large international companies where working languages are other than Spanish. Unskilled, seasonal or agriculture jobs do not require fluency in Spanish.

With regards to the geographical distribution of jobs, Madrid and Barcelona attract many foreign workers because of their bustling economic activities. Valencia has also experienced a strong economic expansion in recent years and also attracts many foreign workers. Many tourism or seasonal jobs are also available along the coasts. 

The minimum monthly wage in Spain is of €624 (gross) for a full time job since 2009. Spanish employees benefit from 22 days off and 14 bank holidays per year. The legal working time is set at 40 hours per week (maximum 9 hours a day). 

The working day usuakky starts later than elsewhere in Europe, around 9 or 10 am and ends later in the evening, around 7 or 8 pm. 

 Useful links: 

Department of Labor 

http://www.mtas.es/es/sec_trabajo/index.htm 

Oficina empleo - National Agency for Employment 

http://www.oficinaempleo.com/

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