No lucrative jobs in Spain, DOLE warns

Filipinos being lured by prospects of lucrative jobs in Spain should think twice, the Department of Labor and Employment warned on Tuesday.

Citing reports from the Philippine labor attaché to Spain, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Spain was still recovering from a tourism slowdown in the last two years, which has resulted in underemployment among many Filipinos working in bars, restaurants and hotels there.

The sluggish tourism industry in Spain created “underemployment for some Filipinos in terms of reduced working hours,” according to a report received from Ramon Tionloc Jr., Philippine labor attaché to Spain.

Baldoz said Filipinos intending to work in the southern European country should not entertain “false information” that paints a rosy picture of the livelihood prospects for migrants there.

While unemployment among Filipino workers in Spain has remained relatively low compared to other migrants, prospects of employment for more overseas Filipino workers were “not desirable,” Tionloc also informed Baldoz.

Tionloc further reported that Spain’s unemployment rate was 21.3 percent, the highest in the European Union in the first quarter of this year.

“I advise our OFWs to be wary of offers of employment in Spain, particularly in construction, real estate, and manufacturing,” stated Baldoz.

She added, “Migrant workers in these sectors are mostly Latin Americans so much so that Asians, such as Filipinos may find it hard to get employed in these sectors.”

To avoid making bad decisions, prospective OFWs should check any information on Spain’s labor market with the proper authorities, particularly the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration or the Spanish Embassy in Manila, said the labor chief.