16pc of 28´617 foreign workers are from Britain

Figures released yesterday indicate that there were 28'617 registered foreigners working in the Balearics last year with over half from Western Europe and the biggest single nationality was British. Just over 16 per cent of foreign workers were from Britain, followed by 15.5 per cent from Germany. According to the Balearic Labour Ministry, last year 44'994 contracts were made out to people born outside of Spain, seven per cent of the national total - half of which were from Western Europe - and 20.2 per cent from North Africa. The biggest employer last year was the hotel sector which employed 33.2 per cent of workers from overseas and also accounts for 66 per cent of Western Europeans working in the Balearics. The second biggest employer is the construction industry. 23 per cent of foreign workers were last year employed in the building trade, 53.1 per cent being from North Africa and 21 per cent from the other parts of Africa.