IMMIGRANTS IN SPAIN: FEWER JOB OPPORTUNITIES,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001134 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PREF PREL SMIG SUBJECT: IMMIGRANTS IN SPAIN: FEWER JOB OPPORTUNITIES, FEWER REMITTANCES BACK HOME REF: A. A. MADRID 835 ¶B. B. CASABLANCA 144 ¶1. SUMMARY. With unemployment nearing 20 percent, immigrants in Spain are finding work sparse and low-paying, according to informal interviews conducted in past several months. Immigrants, many from Latin America or North Africa, have seen previously abundant sources of work dry up in the first half of 2009, and have reduced remittances to their home countries. However, few are considering returning to their home countries, saying that the situation there is often worse. END SUMMARY. ¶2. About half of all immigrants moving to Spain are actively seeking work; however, less than 10% have a job before they arrive. While this may have been sustainable during boom years, immigrants are now experiencing difficulties finding work. The latest active population survey from the end of September 2009 revealed that for the first time in 13 years (since the third quarter of 1996) there are fewer immigrants living in Spain compared with the previous study. Data collected by the National Statistics Institute suggests that there were 30,000 fewer immigrants from Latin America, while a significant number of Romanians and other EU immigrants returned home. Analysts attribute the shift to a halt in arrivals, along with a rise in departures. The press has reported that the number of illegal immigrants arriving from Sub-Sahara Africa, frequently traveling by boat to the Canary Islands, has also declined as word spreads in African communities that fewer job opportunities are available and life in Spain is more difficult than it used to be. // Immigrants Seek Legal Status as Work Becomes Scarce // ¶3. To determine the impact of the economic crisis on immigrant populations, POL staff surveyed immigrants outside the offices of the Ministry of Territorial Policy, (where work and residency permits applications are filed) during the last several months. Over 60 percent of immigrants in Spain have been here for over five years. Of those we spoke with, many had previously been able to work without official papers. With less "off the books" work available, immigrants have turned to the government for permits to work legally. As a Peruvian migrant explained, "there is no more working without papers." Since 2007, he had worked construction jobs in Spain without papers. Since the onset of the crisis, he said, there have been fewer jobs, and the process for getting a working permit has become more difficult. Note: Many immigrants may also be applying for work permits as a path to residency. As residents, they would be able to collect generous unemployment benefits. End Note. // Remittances Decrease as Immigrants Struggle to Cover Costs // ¶4. Almost every immigrant interviewed has been sending money to his or her home country to support family left behind. Many used to make weekly or monthly contribution, and have now cut back, in some cases stop cases not being able to send anything. Even with the crisis, however, many still try to send what they can. Patricia, who came to Spain in 2003 from her native Bolivia, has been able to continue sending money back to the family she left behind, albeit less than she did before. For her, the exchange rate is such that a small number of Euros can amount to a significant remittance when converted to Bolivianos. One Moroccan man described the economic situation as "terrible," saying that he has had to stop remittances all together. Many of the 700,000 Moroccans in Spain may be facing similar situations (ref B),as Moroccans were disproportionately represented in the construction industry, which collapsed after a long boom. // Staying in Spain, through Good Times and Bad // ¶5. Even though almost all of those interviewed have seen reductions in income in recent months, many say they would rather stay in Spain and wait for an economic recovery than return to their home country. Ezuma left his native Nigeria in 2003 to work in Spanish factories and construction jobs. Even though he has not been able to find work in Spain for months, he has no desire to return to Nigeria because "has no life there." He obtained Spanish nationality, and in doing so had to renounce his Nigerian citizenship. Even many who have been here for less time want to bear the crisis in Spain and wait for times to get better. Dante, a Peruvian immigrant who has been in Spain for three and a half years, explained: "the 2,000 percent inflation we had to live with in Peru makes even today,s situation in Spain seem pleasant." The GOS initiated a program to give illegal immigrants incentives to return to their home countries. The MADRID 00001134 002 OF 002 national government offers to pay for a flight home and nominal financial assistance. In addition, the GOS operates an incentive program for legal immigrants to depart Spain. However, according the Ministry of Labor and Immigration, as of the third quarter of 2009 only a very small percentage (8,724 people) requested voluntary return from a legal immigrant population of 4.5 million. The countries with the most voluntary return requests were Ecuador (44 percent), Colombia (18 percent),and Argentina (9 percent). There have been very few applications from North Africans or Sub-Saharan Africans. // Intra-Immigrant Community Resentment Builds as Resources Become Scarce // ¶6. Among immigrants from different countries, some are beginning to show resentment towards others. This often stems from jealously of perceived discrepancies in work opportunities or legal status. For example, Jorge from Peru thinks the Chinese find work more easily, citing the large number of Chinese businesses in Madrid. He opined that the Chinese in Spain are not significantly suffering from the crisis. Amir from Pakistan has been struggling to apply for official papers after being in Spain for three years and working without papers as a waiter. He expressed frustration that he had to compete with the large population of Bulgarians and Romanians, who, because of the EU,s common market labor laws, have the right to work legally in Spain. //COMMENT: Low Potential for Radical Extremism due to Economic Crisis // ¶7. In this small sampling, immigrants did not express any disfranchisement or frustration that appeared it might potentially led to radicalism caused by the current economic crisis. As an example of efforts to ameliorate the situation, the Andalusian regional government, in coordination with several NGOs focused on labor rights, ran outreach campaigns to inform potential immigrants that there were no jobs available in the vast olive groves of Jaen this year (unemployed Spaniards are being hired for the harvest). Among those immigrants we interviewed, there was general sentiment that the rapid growth in the Spanish economy through the greater part of the decade, and the preponderance of construction sector jobs, created a temporary "boom". For many immigrants the bust has been equally rapid. However, those who have chosen to remain in country believe this phase of the economic crisis to be a temporary hardship. They remain optimistic about their future prospects. END COMMENT. CHACON