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WORKING IN SPAIN

Workers in Spain earn 20 percent less than EU average

Despite being one of the largest economies in Europe, Spain may not be a good place to work for those looking to be well compensated as figures reveal workers earn a lot less than some of their European neighbours.

Published: 10 August 2022 16:27 CEST
atm in Spain
Spaniards earn 20 percent less than the EU average. Photo: Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke / Pixabay

People working in Spain earn, on average, €1,751 per month. This is 20 percent less or €443 less than the EU average of €2,194, according to human resource giant Adecco and their monitor on wages, published Tuesday.

Life in Spain is getting more and more expensive due to soaring inflation and rising energy costs, but despite having the highest average salary in history, people in Spain can’t afford as much as they did 13 years ago, due to diminishing purchasing power.

Within the EU, Adecco reported that 15 countries have wages lower than Spain, and 11 have higher. 

Nine European countries have average salaries above €2,500 per month, while in Spain the average salary does not even reach €2,000. This is the case in Finland (€2,603), Sweden (€2,623), Austria (€2,788), Belgium (€2,830), the Netherlands (€2,883), Ireland (€2,920), Germany (€3,003), Denmark (€3,458 ) and Luxembourg (€3,502).

In Germany for example, employees earn on average 42 percent more than in Spain, meaning that workers in Spain would have to work 20 months, almost two years, to be able to earn the same as a German.

There is more than €1,250 difference between what those in Germany are paid and what those in Spain are paid.

On the other hand, there are several EU countries with salaries less than in Spain. Those with average salaries of €1,100 are mostly found in Eastern Europe, with Bulgaria being the EU country with the lowest remuneration of just €562 per month.

This is followed by Romania (€718), Hungary (€798), Poland (€833), Croatia (€863), Latvia (€892), Slovakia (€977), Lithuania (€1,007), Greece (€1,034), Estonia (€1,053) and the Czech Republic (€1,078).

Spain forms part of the middle group that earn more than €1,100 per month but less than €2,500 per month. Those EU countries with salaries similar to Spain include Portugal (€1,106), Cyprus (€1,309), Malta (€1,329), Slovenia (€1,417), Italy (€2,074) and France (€2,446). However, there are of course wide gaps between these countries too.  

Compared to its nearest neighbours, Spanish workers earn 58 percent more than those in Portugal or €645 more per month, but 28.4 percent less than those in France or €695 less each month. 

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WORKING IN SPAIN

Not English: The languages linked to high-paying jobs in Spain

It is generally thought that if you speak English, you will have access to more, better and higher paying jobs overseas, but that's not necessarily the case in Spain.

Published: 6 May 2024 09:23 CEST
Not English: The languages linked to high-paying jobs in Spain

It’s obvious that language skills are very important when applying for certain jobs and that some companies are attracted to applications from those who speak more than one.

A common belief in Spain, particularly among locals, is that if you learn English then you’ll have access to better-paying jobs within Spain.

Therefore, it might be surprising to learn that according to a recent study from online, language learning marketplace Preply, it’s not English or even French that’s the most economically valuable foreign language in Spain, it’s Romanian.

The company analysed a total of 500,000 job vacancies in Spain in order to find out which languages ​​are the most economically profitable and which have the greatest demand.  

All the job vacancies were listed on job search engine Adzuna or were from advertisements that explicitly sought foreign language skills.

The study revealed that those who speak Romanian earn an average annual salary of €82,865, almost triple the average Spanish salary, which is €29,113.

In second place was Portuguese, with speakers earning an average of €68,120. This was followed by Arabic, whose speakers earn an average salary of €67,357.  In fourth place was Greek, with an average salary of €58,333 and then French, with an average annual salary of €54,725.

English didn’t even feature in the top five languages when it came to those earning the most in Spain. In fact, it came in ninth place, with speakers earning €49,000 on average.

While English speakers may not be earning the top salary here, it is however still one of the most useful languages to know (other than Spanish) as the study found that it was required by the most number of foreign companies in Spain – 16,000 in total.  

In second place, when it came to useful languages was German. However, the number of companies requiring candidates to speak it was much less than English, with a total of 2,040 vacancies.

READ ALSO: Why are the Spanish ‘so bad’ at English?

Why is Romanian such a profitable language to know in Spain?

It largely comes down to the fact that there are more than half a million Romanians living in Spain. A total of 627,478 in 2022, according to the latest figures available from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE)

Rapid growth in the Romanian-speaking population means that there’s a greater need for Romanian translators and interpreters here. 

The majority of these translators are in the court system and National Police. Romanian, along with Arabic, makes up 50 percent of the court translation requests.

Since 2008, interpreters for the police have been in such great demand that they have had to outsource to specialised companies.

Because of the scarcity of translators who speak these languages specifically and the greater demand, these positions usually come with high salaries.

It has been reported that this year alone, the police will spend around €850,000 per month to translate conversations intercepted from criminals. 

Over the last 10 years, the budget for hiring translators and interpreters has increased dramatically. Currently, the police pay around €26 per hour.

Recently, the Spanish Cabinet authorised the Interior Ministry to bid for new contracts so that the National Police will have access to better interpreter services.  

The budget for this is set at €39.7 million, which is much higher than what was available before.  

Currently, the National Police can request translators in several languages ​​divided into categories according to the frequency of use.  

English, French, German and standard Arabic are some of the most requested, followed by Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Romanian, Italian, Polish and Dutch.

Serbian, Bambara, Bengali, Iranian, Persian, Farsi, Armenian and Igbo interpreters are also sought-after.

These translators must have a qualification and experience and must be available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. When requested, they must appear at the required police station within a maximum time that ranges between 90 minutes and four hours, depending on the language they speak and the distance they have to travel. This goes some way to explain why they are paid so much.    

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