Spanish government to create 20,000 public sector jobs over next two years

Thousands of new seats will be filled across Spain’s public sector over the next couple of years.

The government of Spain has pledged to create an additional 20,000 jobs in the public sector between now and 2019 in an effort to offer greater support for much of the country’s official authorities and services.

According to the El Mundo newspaper, 7,000 posts will be created for general state administration, with a further 3,360 positions added to the judiciary…

The Spanish civil service, tax authority and social security institutions will share an additional 4,000 new roles between them as Madrid seeks to bolster the government’s ability in many key areas.

It is expected that most roles will be announced – if not filled – this year. If so, it would represent one of the strongest recruitment drives in Spanish government history.

“This is an extraordinary plan to ensure the viability of the administration, which in just 6 years has seen its young staff decimated,” Francisco Iglesias, vice president of CSI-F, the majority union in the Central State Administration, told El País.

According to official data, of Spain’s 190,858-strong public sector workforce, a mere 1,388 staff are aged under 30. This startling statistic not only highlights how such roles have for so long been the preserve of the old and the connected in Spain, but also demonstrates the urgent need for fresh ideas and more youthful zest.

There have been a grand total of zero new public sector roles created in Spain since 2010. The country has suffered a prolonged period of austerity since that date, but current and future economic projections look very strong, prompting the government to make hay while the sun shines.