What do immigrants work in Catalonia?

BarcelonaIn recent years, the role of immigration has been at the center of the country's social debate. And, in economic terms, arguments for and against have suggested that it both enriches and impoverishes us. But, really, what are the jobs that immigrants hold in Catalonia? What type of foreigner has more weight in each sector? This year's extraordinary regulation has amplified the debate on whether demographic growth will be sustainable in the long term. For the moment, a large part of the business community has not hesitated to position itself in favor, and they see foreign talent as the best way to fill the gaps in the Catalan labor market.

This is the case of the Catalan employers' association for small and medium-sized enterprises, Pimec, which celebrates that a measure of this kind can help reverse the "lack of talent" that currently exists. "Without the arrival of immigrants to our country, the economy would have collapsed," explains the general secretary of the SME association, Josep Ginesta, to l'Empresas, but he also notes that there is currently a great "paradox" in the labor market: "We again have the largest unemployment in Europe, but, on the other hand, our companies have difficulties filling job vacancies," assures Ginesta.

For this reason, the employers' association applauds the measure, but warns that it "will only be a success if, at the end of the process, these people have bread, shelter, and work." And that, otherwise, groups of people at risk of exclusion will be created. Thus, they point out the need for public policies that accompany, for example, with training. They also indicate that, currently, a large part of the people who are availing themselves of the extraordinary regularization are doing so through the certificate of vulnerability, instead of proving a commitment to hire or a work contract. "We believe that social and business entities should coordinate so that these people approach the labor market," explains Ginesta, who adds that Pimec is currently working hand in hand with city councils and third-sector entities to help bridge the gap with the business community.

Fomento del Trabajo also agrees on the need for more people to enter the Catalan market. Last week, the employers' association presented its quarterly labor report and stressed the importance of immigrants for the business ecosystem. “The economy needs foreigners to continue growing,” assured the president of Fomento's Commission for Labor Relations and Human Resources, Luis Pérez. In the study, Fomento highlighted that, over the last decade, foreign workers have occupied more than half of the net new employment created in Catalonia. The president of the Commission also valued that, with the extraordinary regularization, there will be a "high percentage" of people who will move to the formal economy.

Profile of the foreign worker

According to data from the first quarter of 2026 from the General Treasury of Social Security (TGSS) collected by the Observatory of Work and Productive Model of the Generalitat, there are 699,832 foreign workers in Catalan lands. This figure makes Catalonia the territory in the State with the most immigrants in absolute terms, followed by Madrid with 635,826 affiliated immigrants. Andalusia completes the podium, but with a very distant figure: 419,472. This distribution, in relative terms, translates into the fact that more than one in five (22.2%) foreign workers in the entire state territory are located in Catalonia. In the Valencian Country and the Balearic Islands, on the other hand, 12.4% and 3.7% work, respectively.

Regarding the distribution within the country, the large part of employed migrants locate their workplace in the demarcation of Barcelona, where up to 74% of the Catalan total is concentrated. The rest are distributed among Girona (11%), Tarragona (8%), and Lleida (7%). These proportions follow very similar patterns to the demographic distribution existing in the Principality, where Barcelona also concentrates around 75% of the population while the rest of the territories have fewer inhabitants. Of the 699,832 foreign workers in all of Catalonia, 196,070 come from European Union countries, while 503,762 are from the rest of the world.

The countries with the most workers

If we look at the origin of each foreign worker, according to data released by the Observatory of Labor, the significant weight of those from Morocco (84,992) and Italy (62,094) stands out. However, both countries provide different profiles of workers: while 5.82% of affiliated Moroccans are employed in the agricultural sector, only 0.05% of Italians work in it. In contrast, 16.13% of those from Italy are self-employed, while a relative half of Moroccans – 8.85% – fall under this regime.

Italian data, in fact, are very similar to the figures presented by the rest of the European Union countries, with one exception: Romania, the third foreign country that contributes the most workers to Catalan territory (47,575). Its case is different because it provides a much higher proportion of workers dedicated to the agricultural sector (3.89%) and domestic work (2.93%).

On the other hand, Chinese workers also have a peculiarity that makes them unique within the Catalan labor market. Those from China are the only ones who have more self-employed individuals (53.78%) than employees in the general regime. To understand the magnitude of this data, the second country of origin with the largest volume of self-employed in relative terms is France, with 23.63%. If we compare it with other countries outside the European Union, the second nationality with the most self-employed workers is Pakistan (18.97%).

Regarding the domestic sector, the data reveal a very significant weight of workers among those from Honduras. Specifically, 20.35% of the country's employees in Catalonia work in the domestic sector. It is followed by Peru, where 6.99% of its workers are also dedicated to it. Romania completes the podium, with 2.93% of its affiliates working in the sector.

Sectors with more immigrants

When observing the weight of immigrants compared to the total number of workers in each sector, agriculture stands out as the only one where foreigners are a majority compared to those of Spanish nationality. Specifically, 68.96% of those who work in Catalonia are from outside Spanish borders, as indicated by data from the TGSS. Looking in more detail, it is detected that, of the total, 58.03% are people from outside the European Union; while 10.93% come from European Union countries. Regarding domestic work, 40.7% of those who work there are from outside European borders, although the total number of foreigners rises to 44.36%.

Another sector where foreign workers have a significant weight is hospitality. Of the total affiliates dedicated to it, 29.68% are immigrants from outside the EU and 7.08% are from the European bloc. In contrast, immigrant affiliates have a much lower weight in industrial jobs and only represent 14.03% of workers in industry – both extractive and manufacturing.

Salaries by origin

The concentration of different migrants in one sector or another also affects wages. According to data from the Observatory of Work and Productive Model from the Continuous Sample of Work Lives (MCVL) –a set of individual data of affiliations or pensioners of Social Security, selected randomly and anonymized, completed with information from the continuous municipal register and the summary of IRPF withholdings–, the average salary of migrants from the European Union is much higher than that of the rest of the world. Specifically, in 2024 –the last recorded data– the average annual salary of Europeans in Catalonia was 35,611.45 euros, while those from outside the European bloc had an average remuneration of 22,093.05 euros. However, this data also includes pensioners and, therefore, does not only reflect the jobs occupied by each group.

Regarding the evolution of salaries over the last ten years, it has been similar in both groups: the remuneration of those from the EU has grown by 50.62%, while that of those from the rest of the world has grown by 49.34%. The increase, however, has not been the same for workers of Spanish nationality. In fact, in Catalonia, the salaries of this group have only increased by 31.10% in the last decade. This has resulted in the average salary of European immigrants now being above that of Spanish citizens, which is 32,658.53 euros.

Unemployment and Activity

The latest active population survey (EPA) placed the unemployment rate in Catalonia above the 10% threshold for the first time since 2023. Specifically, it raised the coefficient to 10.1% after the worst first quarter in recent years. If we look at unemployed people by origin, however, the figure of unemployed foreigners stands out. While the unemployment rate among the population with Spanish nationality is 7.7%, the foreign rate soars to 18.6%. The situation is further aggravated when focusing on immigrant women, who have the most difficulty finding work (20.3%).

Regarding activity –that is, people between 16 and 64 years old who work or seek employment–, the difference between the sexes of foreigners stands out. Migrant women (72.2%) are the least active group, while men without Spanish nationality (82.3%) are the most active. The data for non-foreign men and women stand at 81% and 76.6%, respectively.