Job Market - Spain

Spain has experienced the sharpest increase in unemployment in Eurpe since the beginning of the global economic downturn. Since the recession began in December 2007, payroll employment in Spain has dropped by almost 2.3 million and the unemployment rate increased by 9.7 percentage points to reach 18.5% by the end of 2009. Despite growing signs that a recovery may be in sight, the Employment Outlook indicates that unemployment in Spain is likely to continue increasing in the months to come and could even approach 20%.

The unemployment effects the foreigners working in Spain, however the polish community seems to be doing better than British, German or Scandinavians counterparts.

With effect from 1 May 2006 all restrictions on the movement of Polish workforce to Spain have been lifted. Since then the number of Poles living in Spain and looking for legitimate jobs are systematically increasing. According to data of the Spanish Ministry of Labor and Immigration there are currently over 100,000 poles officially living in Spain (having a residence permit or a certificate of registration in the database for immigrants). Poles consists over 5% of foreign immigration in Spain. This represents an increase 22.79% compared to the end of December 2007 (about 19 826 people). The of the Consular Section of the Polish Embassy estimates that real number of Poles exceeds 150 000 people (including family members of people registered and those who have not yet settled their stay). Largest concentration of Polish immigration is a region of Madrid (over 30 000), Catalonia (over 15 000) and Andalusia (over 15 000).

Polish workers have good reputation and are perceived as being well educated, experienced and hardworking. In general, Poles are eagerly recruited, but in recent years, as a result of slowing economic growth, this trend is significantly diminished and many people have lost jobs. Detailed information for interested in finding work in Spain are given on the website of the Embassy in Madrid www.madryt.polemb.net, Part of the Consular Section.

A major problem for the Polish migration is ignorance of the Spanish language (English language skills are not enough) making it difficult to find work and agree on working conditions with their employers. There are many cases of polish people who are victims of crooks and unfair employers.

Job market - Poland

In 2009 the labour market in Poland was worsening, but it was fairly good if compared to previous years. The unemployment rate was increasing and at the end of the year it stood at about 8% this is the lowest result in the last four years (in Feb 2005 the rate was 19.4%, in Feb 2006 - 18%, in Feb 2007 - 14.8% and in Feb 2008 - 11.3%). While some companies are laying off staff, some sectors are looking to recruit. Consequently, job creation, although slowing if compared to the previous year, is still fairly strong. There were around 100,000 vacancies in the beginning of 2009. Job offices in some cities are even reporting that they now have more job offers than they had few months ago. Warsaw's head hunters are in fact now talking about an upturn in the labour market after months of stagnation.

After months of uncertainty, confidence among employers is improving and they are keener on proceeding with planned expansion, including recruitment than they were few months ago. The fear and panic about the effects of the crisis hasn't materialised. The Polish economy has slowed down, but hasn't slid into recession and hasn't needed external help. The first estimate from the Ministry of Economy is that the GDP of the Polish economy will likely grow by 0.7% in 2009 (vs. a rise of 4.8% in 2008) and will speed up to 2.2% in 2010.

Sectors that offer the most new jobs are IT, financial services, and pharmaceuticals. There is also a significant number of jobs in the public sector.

There are around 3,400 vacancies in the police and the army, which is turning professional, is conducting big recruitment campaign.

State-owned Kompania W?glowa in the Silesia region has 4,000 jobs for coal miners in 2009. Around 1,800 may find employment in Katowice.

The financial sector, which may see an 8% reduction in vacancies in 2009, has seen the entry of two new players at the national level, both of whom are recruiting staff.

Analysts and financial consultants can apply for jobs in Credit Suisse or UPS accountancy centre in Wroc?aw (moved from London), or Philip Morris or Capgemini in Kraków. The IT sector is thriving in main Polish cities as local and foreign companies are reporting increasing international demand for their services. Those that are already present in Poland are expanding their operations, while others are moving in.

In Wroc?aw, Hewlett-Packard announced it is looking to employ 800 more people in 2009. Roche is planning to open an IT centre in Pozna?, IBM in Gda?sk.

Owners of hotels are also seeking to increase employment, which is a start of a big recruiting campaign linked to the Euro 2012 tournament.

Despite the crisis in the car industry, Honda is starting construction of a logistic centre near Pozna?. In Wroc?aw, Sauer-Danfoss is starting construction of its plant and will employ around 400 staff.

Production operations have been also expanded by foreign companies, already present in Poland. Gillette will move part of its USA operations to ?ód?. In the same city, Dell is launching new production lines and is moving from Ireland. In ?ód?, three new investors got permission to start activities in the special economic zone. They will create around 500 jobs. An Indesit plant in Radom (Warsaw region) is expecting to take over the production of washing machine from a plant in Italy that has been recently closed.

The above examples are, of course, selected ones, but they do show that job creation in Poland remains strong.