Spain relies on immigrants to stimulate the economy

A group of sub-Saharan African men play bingo in a hotel conference room near the northern Spanish city of León.

They laugh and celebrate when their numbers are announced, but many of these asylum seekers have harrowing stories.

Among them is Michael, who fled Ghana to escape a violent feud that killed his sister and father. After traveling overland to Morocco, he paid a smuggler to put him on a dinghy full of people that took him to the Canary Islands.

“I was so happy because I knew that all my problems and the people who wanted to kill me were behind me,” he says. “Because once you’re in Spain, you’re safe.”

In Ghana he worked as a gas station attendant and shop owner. He also began studying human resources management, which he would like to continue after he settles in Spain.

“Spain is one of the most respected countries in the world,” he says. “Being here is an opportunity for me.”

Around 170 asylum seekers live in this hotel in the town of Villaquilambre, which has been converted into a migrant center.

They are among the many thousands of people who take the sea route between the African coast and Spain every year.

So far this year more than 42,000 undocumented migrants have arrived in Spain, an increase of 59% compared to 2023, with the vast majority making the dangerous crossing to the Canary Islands.

The archipelago's difficulties in managing these large numbers have led to a heated political debate over immigration, similar to that in many other European countries. In Spain, much of the controversy is being driven by the far-right Vox party, which often refers to the trend as “…” “Invasion”.

But the newcomers have also shown that it is an important potential source of labor for an economy facing major demographic challenges.

Javier Díaz-Giménez, an economics professor at IESE Business School and an expert on pensions, says that the baby boom that lasted from the mid-50s to the late 70s has created a generation of Spaniards who are approaching retirement age. and the ensuing “baby crash” means there aren’t enough workers to replace them.

“The next 20 years will be crucial because more and more people will be retiring,” he says. “According to the latest demographic scenario, 14.1 million people will retire during this period.”

One way to address the labor deficit, he says, is to emulate Japan's economic model, which has a similarly low birth rate, by investing heavily in algorithms and machines. The obvious alternative to this is immigration.

“If you want to increase GDP, if you want to pay pensions for all the retiring baby boomers, you have to increase GDP in a different way than we are increasing it now, because there won't be as many people unless , us.” “We bring them in through immigration,” adds Prof. Díaz-Giménez.

The Spanish central bank has quantified the projected labor shortage. A report released in April said the country would need around $500,000 25 million immigrants in the next 30 years.

The left-wing Spanish government has also supported immigrants economically. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described them as “wealth, development and prosperity” for his country during a recent tour of Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal.

“The contribution of migrant workers to our economy is fundamental, as is the sustainability of our social security system and pensions,” he said.

Mr. Sánchez's coalition hopes a proposal to legalize the status of up to 500,000 illegal migrants, mostly from Latin America, will make it through parliament. Spain has seen nine such mass legalizations in its democratic era, most recently in 2005 under a previous government led by Spain's Socialist Workers' Party.

However, the country's economic needs are at odds with ordinary Spaniards' perceptions of immigration. A new survey shows that this is the case for 41% of people “very worried” affected by this phenomenon, making it their fifth biggest concern after inflation, housing, inequality and unemployment.

While only 9% of Spaniards associate immigrants with economic progress, 30% associate them with insecurity and 57% believe there are too many of them.

Villaquilambre, on the other hand, is an example of how newcomers without papers can be integrated into the world of work.

Asylum seekers are allowed to work here six months after their arrival in Spain.

“Before they receive the work permit, we place great emphasis on them learning Spanish and providing them with training and risk avoidance courses,” says Dolores Queiro of the San Juan de Dios Foundation, the non-governmental organization that runs the migrant center in Villaquilambre.

“As the date for starting work approaches, we contact various companies – and they also contact us – and start looking for jobs for them.”

Companies are reaching out, she says, “because they know we have people here who want to work.”

Makan, from Mali, has just started working for a local company, GraMaLeon, which makes marble and granite walls, bathrooms and kitchen countertops. He commutes the short distance from the hotel to the factory every day on an electric scooter.

“I like working,” he says in halting Spanish after spending a shift lugging marble slabs around the factory.

Ramiro Rodríguez Alaez, co-owner of the company, which employs around 20 people, says it is not easy to find workers.

“We need a lot of workers in this profession. But it's hard, it gets cold, you have to lift heavy weights, so it's not a job that a lot of young people here want to do.

“There aren't many companies in this industry here, but the ones that exist need people. We’re all looking for local people and can’t find them.”

He adds: “Immigrants are an important source of labor for us.”