Spain’s largest regional business federation, Foment del Treball, used the presentation of a new demographic report in Madrid on 4 December to issue an unusually blunt call for a cross-party, cross-society pact that would make it easier for foreign workers to move to—and stay in—Spain.
The study, prepared by consultancy Opina360, concludes that the Spanish economy will require an average of 140,000 additional immigrant workers every year over the next decade to avoid a deficit of 1.4 million jobs. Catalan employers’ president Josep Sánchez Llibre warned that, without swift reforms, vacancies already evident in construction, hospitality and advanced manufacturing will widen and erode productivity, competitiveness and ultimately tax revenues.
![Catalan Employers Demand National Pact to Boost Immigration and Fill Spain’s Looming Labor Gap]()
Business leaders argue that immigration is the only rapid-response tool available to counter Spain’s accelerating demographic squeeze: deaths have out-numbered births for a decade, one in five workers is now over 55 and a wave of retirements will peak in the early 2030s. At the same time, surveys show that 28 % of Spaniards still link immigration with insecurity, feeding political resistance that Sánchez Llibre acknowledged but urged policymakers to confront head-on.
Foment will circulate the report to the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), trade-union leaders, regional governments and the central executive. The employers want a “State Pact” that would expand hiring lists for hard-to-fill occupations, speed up visa processing, recognise foreign qualifications more quickly and invest in integration programmes. They also favour extending the new 2025 immigration regulation— which shortens residency requirements for social and labour “arraigo” permits—to more categories of workers and regions facing depopulation.
For global mobility and HR teams, the message is clear: Spain’s private sector is pushing hard for more predictable and business-friendly immigration channels. If a pact materialises, companies could soon benefit from easier recruitment of both high-skilled and essential frontline staff, lowering assignment costs and making Spain an even more attractive hub for Southern-European operations.
The study, prepared by consultancy Opina360, concludes that the Spanish economy will require an average of 140,000 additional immigrant workers every year over the next decade to avoid a deficit of 1.4 million jobs. Catalan employers’ president Josep Sánchez Llibre warned that, without swift reforms, vacancies already evident in construction, hospitality and advanced manufacturing will widen and erode productivity, competitiveness and ultimately tax revenues.
Business leaders argue that immigration is the only rapid-response tool available to counter Spain’s accelerating demographic squeeze: deaths have out-numbered births for a decade, one in five workers is now over 55 and a wave of retirements will peak in the early 2030s. At the same time, surveys show that 28 % of Spaniards still link immigration with insecurity, feeding political resistance that Sánchez Llibre acknowledged but urged policymakers to confront head-on.
Foment will circulate the report to the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), trade-union leaders, regional governments and the central executive. The employers want a “State Pact” that would expand hiring lists for hard-to-fill occupations, speed up visa processing, recognise foreign qualifications more quickly and invest in integration programmes. They also favour extending the new 2025 immigration regulation— which shortens residency requirements for social and labour “arraigo” permits—to more categories of workers and regions facing depopulation.
For global mobility and HR teams, the message is clear: Spain’s private sector is pushing hard for more predictable and business-friendly immigration channels. If a pact materialises, companies could soon benefit from easier recruitment of both high-skilled and essential frontline staff, lowering assignment costs and making Spain an even more attractive hub for Southern-European operations.
