Reign over Spain Job seekers delight

SPAIN’S job market is experiencing an unprecedented surge with 149,645 unfilled job vacancies, setting a new record.

The Quarterly Labour Cost Survey (ECTL) by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), released on Friday, June 16, revealed approximately 9,000 more vacancies than during the previous quarter of 2022.

Interestingly, Spain stands out in Europe with less than 1 per cent of job vacancies remaining unfilled, much lower than the European average of 2.8 per cent. Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands have the highest vacancy rates at 4.7 per cent.

Denmark

Last act

WARNER BROS INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION PRODUCTION (WBITVP) is closing its Denmark production centre and centralising Scandinavian operations in Sweden. The decision was prompted by ‘ongoing uncertainty’ in the Danish media market and the rising costs of content creation, Warner Brothers said.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment highlights that these vacancies are relatively small compared to Spain’s employed population of 20.8 million. They also cite data from the final quarter of 2022, indicating constant improvements in Spain’s employment figures.

Minister Yolanda Díaz is confident that Spain doesn’t face a job vacancy crisis, stating that companies are not struggling to fill employment needs statistically. Spain’s thriving job market, with a record number of unfilled job vacancies,reveals its potential for economic growth by attracting job seekers and bridging the employment supply to demand gap.

The Netherlands

Screen scheme

SUN cream dispensers will be available this summer in schools, universities, at festivals, parks, sports venues and in open public spaces in the Netherlands. Skin cancer levels have soared, and it wants everyone to have access to sun protection without concerns about cost or inconvenience, the government said.

Belgium

Bittersweet

A YOUNG Ukrainian refugee now living in Brussels won €500,000 after buying a €5 lottery scratchcard. The unnamed winner had “very mixed feelings”, a lottery spokesman said, as his mind was clearly in Ukraine and it was difficult to be happy with all that was happening in his country.

Germany

Rare find

ARCHAEOLOGISTS in Bavaria announced that they had found a well-preserved Bronze Age sword in the town of Nordlingen. The discovery of the 3,000-year-old sword was extremely rare for this part of Germany as most burial mounds were looted during antiquity or opened during the 19th century.

France

Red line

NUCLEAR power was an absolute, non-negotiable red line, declared France’s Finance minister Bruno Le Maire following Franco-German disagreements over nuclear energy in Europe. “France will not relinquish any of the competitive advantages linked to nuclear energy,” Le Maire insisted at the Electricity Union’s annual conference.

Norway

Going up

NORWAY’S krone rose to €0.088 on June 14, the strongest it has been since steady growth began in June, attributed by currency strategists to unexpectedly high core inflation. The value of the krone against the euro had declined steadily since spring last year, when it was worth more than €0.1.