The hunt for employment in Spain is not trouble-free. It is most predominant outside the main cities where unemployment is

elevated, also, if you do not meet the criteria to live and work in Spain as an associate of an EC nation, then getting

hold of a residence card is time-consuming and maddening. US citizens and other outsiders without the right to seek and

obtain employment in Spain must have their employment permitted by the Spanish Ministry of Labor and acquire a visa ahead

of entering the country. You should not plan to find employment here unless you have a confirmed job offer, particular

qualifications, or experience for positions which there is a high demand.

If you are looking for a particularly high paid job then you should speak fluent Spanish. Being attracted to Andalusia by

its climate and standard of living is laudable but does not rate greatly as an employment qualification. Many people

switch back to self-employment or start a business to earn a living, even though that path is sprinkled with pitfalls.

Many foreigners do not do enough homework before coming to Spain. While hoping for the best, one must prepare for the

worst of circumstances and be positive that you have adequate emergency resources to last until you obtain proper

employment. Always have a contingency plan to fall back on. Also, don't forget to take into account the currency exchange

from your current monetary system.

In the current decade, Spain has been experiencing occupational shortages, which partly come from a shortage of affordable

housing in Spain. So young people often still live with their parents and cannot afford their own housing thus do not have

the mobility of taking up their occupations in other cities where they might be able to get jobs. This is a structural

problem in Spain. Spain in recent years has been promoting immigration to address its labor shortage. This has somewhat

worked as immigrants have an employment rate of 70% compared to Spanish nationals of 55% as a study in 2002 showed.

According to the study immigrant workers are mostly employed in construction, agriculture and the service sector such as

hotels & catering, domestic, and personal services.

The labor shortage relates mostly to skilled workers. In the apparel, industry in Spain such a shortage is presently a

problem. Due to the lack of skilled labor in the industry, factories are forced to use unskilled labor resulting in a

lower quality in the finished product. This problem has been reported by sewing factories, industrial fabric productions

and the fashion industry as a whole.

Another Spanish industry suffering from shortage of skilled labor is Spain's important wine production industry.

Especially during the harvest season, the industry depends largely on foreign workers every year. Due to Spain's stringent

bureaucracy every year, thousand of illegal immigrant workers work on the wine hills. The Spanish government has taken

severe action against that problem in the recent years, resulting in less illegal immigrant workers and a shortage. There

is further strong demand for immigrant workers in Spain as forecasts indicate that in the next 15 years the labor market

will need another 6 million people to make up for Spain's demographic collapse.

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