Aug 11. Spain is opening its doors to foreign workers to fix labor shortages and ease a demographic slump threatening its future prosperity.
In contrast with more anti-immigrant politics in much of Europe, the government has loosened rules to allow the recruitment of employees in their countries, mostly in Latin America, for both skilled and unskilled jobs that are hard to fill.
The reform, which will take effect in coming days, offers an accelerated path to legal status for potentially tens of thousands of people currently working in the shadow economy.
While the post-pandemic rebound explains the most pressing job needs, the shortage also offers a glimpse of the deeper problems gripping industrialized economies with fewer babies, shrinking workforces, and spiraling public-finance costs to match.
Source: Bloomberg
