Spain needs 100,000 qualified foreign workers, study finds.

Spain needs 100,000 qualified foreign workers, study finds.

AFP (10/23) reports, "Despite a slowing economy, Spain needs 100,000 qualified foreign workers per year until 2012 due to a shortage of IT, health and other professionals," according to a study from Etnia Comunicacion. "In total the country will need between 250,000 and 300,000 immigrants per year -- half the amount which has arrived annually in recent years -- if low-skilled workers are included." The report noted, "The shortage of highly qualified professionals in the technology sector, especially in the Internet area, as well as health professionals, engineers and consultants is starting to become urgent." The study cited "Spain's low birth rate and ageing population...as reasons for the continued need for immigration." The findings come as the Spanish government plans "to slash the number of jobs on offer to foreigners recruited in their countries of origin, mostly in low-skilled areas like construction and the services sector." It also "reduced the total number of professions requiring foreign workers by 35 percent."