More self employed foreigners in Spain

THE number of self employed foreigners in Spain has increased by 8 per cent since the end of last year according to the latest government statistics.

The rate of unemployment among foreign residents in Spain, 29 per cent, is higher than the rate for Spanish nationals, 21.1 per cent.

The “autonomo” fees have dropped somewhat which has made it easier for new businesses to be started. Every autonomous region in Spain except for Ceuta reported a rise in the number of foreigners employed on an “autonomo” basis.

The regions with the greatest rises in the number of self employed foreigners are: Catalonia (+4,498), the Balearic Islands (+4,339), the Valencia Region (+2,526), Andalucía (+2,420) and Madrid (+1,332).

The areas with the fewest number of foreign self employed workers are Extremadura, Galicia and Asturias.

The Chinese have more people registered as “autonomo”’ than any other nationality. They are followed by the Italians, Moroccans, Pakistanis and Bulgarians.

The majority of foreigners working on an “autonomo” basis are in the commercial sector (29%) and then the hostelry sector (23%), with significant increases in the real estate sector (+14.5%), manufacturing (+14.1%) and artistic activities (+12.5%).