Foreigners hold down 38 per cent of new jobs

Thirty-eight per cent of the stable jobs created in the Balearics between June 2000 and June 2001 are occupied by foreign workers. This representes 7'358 out of 19'522, according to Antoni Monserrat, the government's director general of the economy. It is this work force which has enabled the Balearic economy to maintain its growth levels. He went on to say that the growth in jobs over the past year shows that without foreign workers it would not have been possible to satisfy the needs of the labour market, as workers from the islands and other parts of Spain would only have filled about 12'000 jobs. This, he said, underlines the importance of immigration at opportune moments of the Balearic economy. Monserrat said that the figures show that there are 10'505 European Union workers who come to the islands to work for a season and then return to their own countries. A third of these (3'590) come from the United Kingdom, a further 2'437 from Germany and 1'478 from Italy. The graph shows the break-down of seasonal work. Seven per cent of the foreign workers registered in the Spanish social security system are in the Balearics, Monserrat said. At July 1, 2001, the total number was 28'391. To these must be added a further 9'305 who are self employed. Monserrat said that the European Union workers who come to the Balearics have a higher level of training than those who go to other parts of Spain.