Myth-buster: Immigrants don't take jobs from Spaniards or lower wages

Ugly scenes in the Murcian town of Torre-Pacheco brought immigration to the forefront (and front pages) for many, with extremist right-wing groups descending on the town to 'hunt' immigrants following an assault on a local pensioner by three men of North African descent.

READ ALSO: Disinformation catalyses anti-migrant unrest in Spain

Spanish far-right party Vox is rising in polls and could realistically play a coalition role, whether formally or informally, in the next Spanish government. The party caused uproar recently when it hinted that it wanted to deport 8 million foreigners, including Spanish-born second-generation migrants.

Much of Vox's rhetoric focuses on alleged criminality among Spain's immigration population, but right-wing talking points have for many years claimed that high levels of immigration undercut native wages and take jobs from locals.

READ MORE: Vox backtracks on deporting 8 million but lists foreigners to expel from Spain

However, there's increasing evidence to debunk many of the main myths surrounding the immigration debate, namely the claim that immigrants in Spain on the whole take jobs from Spaniards and depress wages.

A study published in late-2024 by Spain's Foundation for Applied Economic Studies (Fedea) highlights the wealth of economic evidence that immigration, in general, is not harmful to local workers or public services. There are some caveats, however, which will be dealt with later.

In Some reflections on the phenomenon of immigration in Spain: Social perception versus real effects, Raquel Carrasco, professor of Economics at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, concludes that: "Despite increased media visibility and public debate, the analysis suggests that many of the concerns about the impact of immigration on employment, wages and public services are influenced by misperceptions and misinformation... data is provided showing that, although immigration has increased significantly in recent decades," she adds, "its actual effects on the labour market and other social aspects are less alarming than is often perceived."

Immigration has clearly increased rapidly in Spain in recent years. While in 2015 there were 4.4 million foreigners residing in the country, in 2025 there are now 6.9 million. Economists point out that due to demographic change, Spain will in the coming years need million migrants to maintain the pensions system.

READ MORE: Why Spain needs millions more migrants, not less

Still, certain parts of the internet and Spanish right portray migrants as being in direct competition with locals in the labour market or, if not, claiming state benefits.

"Its real effects on the labour market and other social aspects are less alarming than is often perceived," Carrasco writes, as shown by recent surveys that demonstrate how Spaniards tend to overestimate the proportion of immigrants in the country, the level of unemployment among them and the social benefits they claim.

READ ALSO: Foreign workers and booming service sector reduce Spain's jobless rate

"There is no evidence to support the claim that the arrival of immigrants harms the employment opportunities of natives," says Carrasco, referring to a study based on data from the Work Permit Register and census records which indicated that employment opportunities for native workers "are not significantly affected by immigration."

The researcher cites another 2016 analysis that argues that "immigration can improve overall labour productivity and that its effect on the wages of native workers is, to a large extent, neutral."

However, that's not to say that immigration has no impact on the Spanish labour market. Research has also found that the group most affected by the arrival of foreigners is that of low-skilled workers. In these cases, "there are clearer adverse effects, especially on wages and, to a lesser extent, on access to employment," the report notes.

This suggests a more heterogeneous impact and that sectors or jobs where competition between natives and foreigners is greater may suffer more pressure, but that's far from migrants having an overall downward drag effect on wages and employment. Nonetheless, often the negative impact comes not from the migrants themselves but employers, mainly Spanish, who are willing to pay exploitative wages.

READ ALSO: Immigrants in Spain earn a third less than local workers

Looking at the bigger picture, for workers as a whole in Spain the effect tends to be diluted or even reversed thanks to an increase in productivity and specialisation associated with a more diverse workforce.

Another more recent study Immigration and the labour market: review and evidence for Spain, written by Ismael Gálvez, professor at the University of the Balearic Islands, states that the impact of immigration on employment and wages in Spain is "small or insignificant" and, like with Carrasco's research, only exerts downward pressure on wages and jobs for specific groups that compete directly with immigrants, especially among less skilled workers.

Gálvez concludes that immigration in Spain "has not led to massive job losses or a generalised fall in wages among native workers". What is observed are "negative impacts on certain sectors, identified mainly among unskilled labour, although the magnitude is limited."

Gálvez also highlights increases in total employment and in the average well-being of native people following period of mass immigration. This is because immigration provides a supply of labour in sectors where it is scarce and helps to improve the efficiency of the production system and maintain growth during periods of expansion.

Furthermore, running contrary to many right-wing narratives, there's even evidence that immigration is contributing to GDP per capita growth.

READ ALSO: 'We owe a lot to them' - Spain's PM highlights immigration benefits