It remains one of the most striking contradictions in today’s labor market. Even with unemployment lists swollen in the province, more than 137,000 people are officially registered as seeking work, while an increasing number of companies report struggles to fill vacancies adequate to fuel growth and meet customer demand. Recovery after the pandemic and successive occupancy records since then have intensified these issues, driven in large part by the rebound in tourism and the hotel sector.
The situation drew the attention of the Sepe Professions Observatory, which decided to address the matter for the first time in its annual report on the Alicante labor market. After a detailed survey conducted by human resources professionals, including managers from employment agencies, the study covered around twenty trades in the province where hiring is proving difficult for business needs.
As anticipated, the hospitality industry ranks high among unfilled roles, with a notable shortage of waitstaff and chefs as highlighted by Sepe technicians in their inquiry.
Significant gaps also appear in transportation, with truck drivers in particularly short supply. The study identifies shortages in positions linked to logistics, customs brokerage, and accounting. In the latter, the bottleneck stems more from cross-skills requirements—such as language proficiency or familiarity with new technologies—than from a lack of candidates. In several sectors, management roles are expected to attract more openings than there are qualified applicants.
When healthcare is examined, shortages affect the ability to hire specialists such as doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists. In creative and artistic fields, the greatest hiring challenges surface in graphic and multimedia design roles.
Construction also shows a misalignment between supply and demand in the province. The sector has prompted the main employer group, Fopa, to advocate for easier hiring of foreign workers. Consequently, Sepe’s consultants point to plumbers, cable installation specialists, air conditioning installers, and crane operators as the trades with the largest number of open positions.
Construction demands labor from abroad due to a shortage of 10,000 workers
Automotive workshops report gaps in upholsterers and electrical mechanics, while the metallurgical industry seeks welders. Repairers of marine or railroad machinery are also hard to find.
Beyond these sectors, the study shows that more common businesses are beginning to feel the pressure. For instance, butchers, fishermen, and hairdressers are encountering difficulties in locating sufficient staff to meet demand.
Among the twenty occupations examined, 71% of the cases revealed hiring difficulties, and in 24% the gap was so wide that no suitable candidates could be identified.
reasons
Regarding the causes, the main issue cited by 38% of respondents is a lack of the right education or work experience. A further 31% indicate insufficient technical skills for the specific roles. Meanwhile, 19% point to working conditions, including salary disputes and unfavorable work hours. Finally, cross-skills such as language ability and technology management hinder many hiring processes for about 12% of positions.
Beyond this study, employer and union analyses present a notably different picture. Some emphasize a persistent talent shortage in skilled roles and argue the issue is becoming widespread across industries. They advocate expanding training offers aligned with the productive sector’s needs and welcome proposals from government leaders to facilitate the recruitment of migrant workers, including streamlined regulations for workers in temporary or unstable situations. They also argue for clearer criteria to recruit foreign workers who are willing to relocate.
Waitress shortage in Alicante affects hospitality amid inflation
Unions acknowledge the need to improve opportunities for immigrants already in Spain, but their stance on the root causes varies. Critics argue that employers should first locate workers through the public employment service when vacancies arise, contending that some firms fail to take that step. They also suggest that wages do not meet the expectations of skilled professionals, citing recent European studies that show the sectors with the greatest hiring difficulties tend to pay below the regional average.
The general secretary of the UGT-PV notes that public employment services and active labor policies are under-resourced. He argues that unemployed people deserve robust support to reenter the labor market, a level of accompaniment that is common in several European nations but appears limited in Spain.