Immigrants Don’t Take Jobs – They Create Them With 400,000 Businesses In Spain

Immigrant self-employment has go a driving economical and societal unit successful Spain, challenging nan anti-immigration rhetoric. In 2024, astir 400,000 overseas self-employed workers were registered successful Spain — astir 10 per cent of nan nationalist full of freelancers and 15 per cent of each migrant Social Security affiliates — according to nan study Migration and Self-Employment successful Spain: Challenges and Opportunities for Social and Territorial Cohesion by nan Intersectoral Confederation of nan Self-Employed (CIAE).

Sandra Said, a Moroccan-born doctor, has lived successful Spain for 35 years. She began moving arsenic a carer for children and nan elderly, later arsenic a cook, and yet arsenic a self-employed expert erstwhile her qualifications were recognised. Now approaching retirement, she reflects from her location successful Andalusia:

“Most of america immigrants walk truthful overmuch clip moving that we don’t person clip to reply nan lies told astir us,” she told Euro Weekly News.

The increasing economical weight of migration successful Spain

Immigrants relationship for astir 12 per cent of each employment successful Spain and show a higher activity complaint than nan nationalist mean (73.2 compared pinch 58.6). The number of overseas Social Security affiliates roseate by 7.9 per cent successful 2024, reaching 2.86 million, pinch non-EU workers making up 69 per cent. These figures underline nan increasing economical weight of migration and its domiciled arsenic a pillar of nan Spanish labour market, efficaciously countering nan xenophobic communicative pushed by definite governmental sectors.

“We person nan aforesaid authorities and obligations arsenic nan section population, and astir of america comply pinch them. The rule ever falls harder connected those without money for lawyers aliases a support network,” adds Said.

One successful 10 freelancers successful Spain is an immigrant, representing 15 per cent of overseas Social Security registrations. Far from taking jobs, immigrants create them — by opening businesses, becoming self-employed, and contributing to societal security. The study stresses that their publication “is not circumstantial but structural, tied to nan sustainability of nan attraction system, nan vitality of municipality commerce, and nan continuity of cultivation activity successful agrarian areas.”

The CIAE study highlights that migrant self-employment has go a captious way to integration, playing a cardinal territorial domiciled by “revitalising declining municipality neighbourhoods and sustaining basal services successful depopulated agrarian areas, thereby reinforcing societal and demographic cohesion.”

New business models and a much divers scope of services

Beyond nan numbers, migrant entrepreneurs bring dynamism to nan economy, introducing caller business models, guidance strategies, and a much divers scope of equipment and services.

Commerce — particularly unit — and hospitality relationship for complete 40 per cent of migrant self-employment, followed by transport, building and attraction work. Yet, nan study besides points retired vulnerabilities that request to beryllium addressed.

Mario arrived successful Denia, successful nan bosom of nan Costa Blanca from Colombia 3 years ago. Although he is still waiting for his documentation, he has worked continuously arsenic a waiter and dishwasher, and has moreover learned English to amended service tourists.

“I understand that we must activity hard, but our authorities should besides beryllium respected. When we’re fixed opportunities for training and employment, we make nan astir of them,” he tells Euro Weekly News while folding umbrellas astatine nan edifice terrace wherever he works.

Despite their precocious activity rate, immigrants look higher unemployment (15.8 per cent compared pinch 12 per cent), showing an progressive yet susceptible integration. Sectors specified arsenic retail, hospitality and attraction activity connection easier entree but besides impact greater title and little profitability.

The endurance complaint of migrant businesses beyond 3 years is betwixt 10 and 15 points little than that of nationals, chiefly owed to difficulties successful accessing finance, constricted support networks, and attraction successful low-margin sectors. The objection is among highly knowledgeable immigrants, whose business endurance rates lucifer those of Spanish entrepreneurs.

Gender disparities adhd different furniture to this inequality. Self-employed migrant women look triple favoritism — by gender, root and ineligible position — and are often confined to undervalued sectors specified arsenic attraction and home work, pinch constricted protection.

Aiming for a much cohesive, inclusive and sustainable Spain by 2030, CIAE calls for “comprehensive policies that toggle shape existent vulnerability into opportunity.” The adjacent 5 years, it says, should attraction connected professionalising nan attraction sector, improving entree to inclusive finance, ensuring afloat societal protection, and strengthening migrant entrepreneurship arsenic a cardinal facet successful agrarian repopulation and nan greenish transition.

In short, nan study shows that immigrants are not a threat to employment, but an basal unit sustaining nan economy, strengthening societal cohesion, and securing Spain’s future.