Mallorca is facing a skilled labor shortage as high living costs, low wages, and post-Brexit challenges make it harder to attract professionals and sustain businesses.

Mallorca is facing a skilled labor shortage as high living costs, low wages, and post-Brexit challenges make it harder to attract professionals and sustain businesses.

Humphrey Carter10/01/2025 09:48Updated at 15:33
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A split in Spain’s left-wing coalition government over a plan to implement a shorter working week with the same pay has broken out, but the private sector, in particular the tourist industry and the long chain of businesses linked to it, has also expressed its reservations. To be blunt, in a location which depends desperately on a near all-year 24/7 industry like tourism, how can shorter working weeks work?

Especially when the tourist industry is not only short of skilled labour in places like Mallorca, the island is unable to attract professionals because the cost of living is far too high, there is not enough affordable seasonal accommodation, wages are inferior and, for businesses which used to employ young people from the UK, it’s a costly paperwork nightmare which, as I’ve been told by the business community, is simply not viable post-Brexit.

So, it’s not going to work, if it ever happens. Furthermore, it’s not just tourism. Take the media sector - news neither sleeps nor takes days off. Yes, the emphasis on daily print news may be dropping, but we live in a more digital age and websites and social media news outlets can’t be ignored. To the contrary they have to be kept constantly live so more people will be needed to keep the shifts rolling.
I’d love a shorter week, same pay. Can’t see it though.