Princess.Aurora

Hi my parents and 18yr old brother are moving to Spain soon.

They want to be out there by at least March 09.

My dad has been a qualified precision engineer for the past 10+ yrs and prior to this he has been a baker, painter and decorater (around12yrs) and also worked various other jobs.

My mum has worked with food and children and has been the sole carer for my Autistic brother.

My brother is 18 and is open to any job offers going, he is hard-working and although he has Autism he is a good communicator (he has a great telephone manner!).

They all have good IT skills and are very friendly and helpful.

They are all open to any offers within reason and are open to any areas to live in.

They have recently been told that Malaga has no job opportunities, especially for ex-pats.

Does anyone know where there are lots of jobs and which areas are best for work and how they can go about getting jobs?

Many Thanks
Sara

valenciatim

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry to say this, but who ever told your parents about the lack of job opportunities in Malaga was nearly correct. They really should have just said the whole of Spain.
The country is suffering its' highest unemployment levels for years, running at about 11% and rising. Even the Spanish are finding work hard to come by, so a newly arrived expat will have a lot of trouble even if they speak the language fluently.
Normally the only work to be found will be providing a service for other expats in an expat area, but everyone is tightening their belts and even those jobs are drying up now.
I am not trying to be a doom monger here, but your parents need to do a hell of a lot of research, and then do it all again before they finally decide to make the move.
Even retired people are feeling the pinch now here, and they have the luxury of a guaranteed income.

Princess.Aurora

Oh dear!
Well thanks for letting me know! Will tell them ASAP!
Do you think there is any chance it will get better by next year or will it go on for a while?
Is it the same for the whole of Europe do you think? I know it's quite hard to find a good job over here too.

Thanks

valenciatim

Oh to have a crystal ball! I wish I knew the answer! I think it will get worse over the next year generally, then maybe start to pick up again. The property market here is worse than in the UK, with houses taking years to sell and falling in value all the time. The construction industry here supposedly accounts for 30 to 40% of the economy, and is now at a standstill with tens of thousands of new properties laying empty and unsold. The exchange rate has made properties and the cost of living look a lot more expensive than they were two years ago, so people aren't spending their money anymore, and easy credit that became available over the last few years has vanished due to the instability of the money markets world wide.
I think we are all wishing that we could see what will happen over the next year or two.

Rosemary

Agree with Tim totally about the job front. We live in a town of Spanish people and we know of loads that are struggle with the work situation and we see evidence of them cutting back on their spending.

Rosemary

montgomail

Several of my neighbours in Spain, German and Spanish have been made redundant over the last 9 months or so.

lynnxa

and tons of people are giving up & going back

my kids come home from school every week telling me that so-and-so is going back, and quite a few seem to have disappeared over the summer

Fred James

Unemployment in Spain is running at 10% and rising fast. In the under 30 age group it is at 17% and 50% of people in that age group who are employed are on temporary contracts.

If you are thinking of moving to Spain for job at the moment I would seriously caution you against it.

If you do get a job you can expect 12 euros an hour if you are very very lucky. It's more likely to be half of that or less with no contact and no healthcare.

Jules Europe

Think you will soon find Spain will largely be like it was in the past with the vast majority of foreign expats here, being those of retirement age or people of means.

There will probably also be a load of unsold properties as people just have to go back for work reasons and either can`t sell their properties or are just unwilling to take a very low offer.

montgomail

Which is fine for the Germans - in fact I know 3 that have gone back this year. But what about the poor young Spanish, they have nowhere to go.

03630

They will do what they have always done. Live with their parents until they can afford to buy a house. Sometimes that means mid thirties!

Jules Europe

or mid forties these days

lynnxa

exactly

and we came really close to giving up a short while ago, but decided to stick it out & are now coming out the other side

lynnxa

true

I know a dentist in her early 50's and a lawyer in his mid thirties - both live with their parents

as does our landlord - a 'gardener' in his 30s/40s (can't be sure) - even though he owns & rents out several properties


I wonder if it really is true (or still true) that gardeners pay little or no tax?

montgomail

But for ones that have a young family and have already bought a property and are now out of work?

The old townhouses were fine for several generations living at home, but for apartment dwellers it is a different matter.