Why is Spain's youth unemployment still so high?
episodePreviously titled “Spain’s economy is growing fast. Why is unemployment still so high, especially for young people?” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 2, 2026
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Why does Spain have high unemployment despite economic growth?
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Hello, I'm Ashish Sharma, and today on Business Daily, well, here's a question. Why is it that Spain has the fastest growing economy in the European Union, but also one of the highest levels of unemployment? The economy is expected to grow around 2.4% this year. The eurozone average is 1.2. Yet Spain's unemployment rate is at 10%, one of the highest in Europe.
Historically, Spain is a country of services.
How does seasonality in tourism affect unemployment rates?
also very associated with tourism and so it is seasonal. This means there are contracts and then there are layoffs. There are months where there is very little unemployment and there are other months where there is much more unemployment which coincides with the whole seasonal issue.
That's Miguel Ángel Blanco Cedrón, director of the Spanish Business School.
What challenges do young graduates face in finding jobs in Spain?
So tourism being seasonal impacts unemployment, which is understandable, but Spain's problems run deeper. Its level of youth unemployment is also much higher, even amongst the well-educated. While graduates don't want to work in services or in tourism and want to use their qualifications, still some 36% of them are in jobs that don't require a degree. So how do young people feel about their future?
How significant is the disconnect between education and job opportunities?
I would say young people are still struggling to find that financial stability that we were promised when we got our education. We were told like, oh yeah, you need to go through this, this and this to find a decent job and have a career, have a future. I do feel like that is still something that we're not fully seeing.
That's all to come in this edition of Business Daily. One of the biggest disconnects is in the lack of internships being offered to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Yes, multinational companies such as Iberdrola, Bebe Ibea Bank do throw resources and have big graduate training schemes. But this doesn't filter all the way down. And where Spain struggles is in small to medium-sized companies offering opportunities.
Because, look...
What role do internships play in the job market for graduates?
Hello, my name is Adela Conde. I work for GEDET Network. I work as a senior business consultant, project manager and also as a mentor for the interns.
But there are exceptions. I popped into the offices of one small but multinational company in central Madrid called Gedeth Network to meet Adela. She was preparing a catch-up meeting with her interns who were on the company's graduate training scheme.
Gedeth Network is an international consultancy. We operate globally and we work with local teams in each market to help the companies and institutions to grow better with less risk and a better clarity. We help and guide students through their transition from education to the job market.
How does vocational training impact youth employment in Spain?
We provide advice, help them with their career choices. We help improve their CVs. We help them and they help us to organize our trade missions, which are very fundamental in our company. Also, we have marketing interns and some data analytics interns. So yeah, for us as a company, it's great to have them here because it makes us more intercultural. We have people from different ages and that enriches us and enriches the organizations. And we identify talent and sometimes they remain here at the company. In my personal opinion, as a mentor, it fulfilled me a lot.
In terms of recruitment, where do you find these young people?
We find them in some universities, but more in masters. When they are doing their master, they do their intern here at Cadeth. The profiles can be various.
What are the effects of AI on job availability for young people?
They have economic degrees, international degrees or marketing degrees.
How many interns do you recruit?
Yeah, OK, we have them from six months to nine months. There are paid internships and depends on the year. But nowadays we have three interns.
And why did you decide to do this? Because obviously this is a cost for your company. If you're taking on three, four interns and they're being paid, you're paying them a salary, but also you're paying for their training.
We are committed with education regarding our CEO, Juan Millán.
How can Spain improve its vocational education and training systems?
He's a professor himself.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why does Spain have high unemployment despite economic growth?
0:00–1:29
2
How does seasonality in tourism affect unemployment rates?
1:29–1:49
3
What challenges do young graduates face in finding jobs in Spain?
1:49–2:14
4
How significant is the disconnect between education and job opportunities?
2:14–3:06
5
What role do internships play in the job market for graduates?
3:06–3:58
6
How does vocational training impact youth employment in Spain?
3:58–5:05
7
What are the effects of AI on job availability for young people?
5:05–5:48
8
How can Spain improve its vocational education and training systems?
5:48–20:16
Speakers
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