Early 2026, outside Zaragoza: the HR director of a logistics operator has three requisitions open since autumn: a supply-chain analyst, an electrician for an automated warehouse and a commissioning engineer for a solar canopy. One is on LinkedIn’s rising-jobs list, one on Spain’s shortage catalogue, and all three compete with nearby data-centre sites.
In Valencia, a 34-year-old administrative officer at an insurer has watched her team shrink from eleven to seven as claims intake was automated. She has a business degree, workable English and budget for one retraining programme. Both want to know which professions are genuinely rising in Spain in 2026.
Spain enters late 2026 with record employment but cooling momentum. According to the INE’s Labour Force Survey (EPA) for Q3 2026, 22.85 million people were in work, 465,500 more than a year earlier (+2.08%), with unemployment at 10.18%. The quarter’s entire gain came from foreign nationals (+75,400), an echo of the spring immigration regularisation; Randstad Research had forecast roughly 450,000 new jobs for the year.
Beneath the headline, hiring is polarising. LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise 2026 list for Spain is dominated by AI, engineering and logistics roles, while SEPE’s quarterly shortage catalogue is full of electricians, PVC fitters and crane operators. This guide, part of the kurums Rising Professions 2026 hub, ranks the professions gaining ground and covers drivers, pay, credentials, hotspots and hiring.
Which jobs are rising fastest in Spain?
LinkedIn’s 2026 top five: AI engineer, AI director, logistics analyst, civil engineering manager, IT sales manager. SEPE’s Q3 2026 shortage catalogue adds electricians, PVC fitters and crane operators.
What is driving demand?
A €33.7 billion AWS data-centre programme in Aragón, a ~700,000-worker construction gap, a ~100,000 nursing shortfall and close to 1.2 million regularisation applications.
What do the roles pay?
From €42,000–65,000 for cybersecurity specialists to €80,000–130,000 plus variable for enterprise IT sales managers, with Madrid and Barcelona paying 25–40% more than Valencia or Sevilla (Hays 2026).
Which jobs are rising fastest in Spain in 2026?
AI engineers, AI directors, logistics analysts, civil engineering managers and IT sales managers lead LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise 2026 ranking for Spain, while electricians, PVC fitters and crane operators fill SEPE’s nationwide shortage catalogue. Cybersecurity, data engineering, legal and nursing complete the list.
| Rank | Profession | Why it is rising | Demand signal (source) | Typical advertised pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AI engineer | AI moving to production; Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia | LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise 2026 #1 | €45,000–70,000 (~$53,000–82,000) (Randstad Digital 2025) |
| 2 | AI director | One owner for AI strategy; Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante | LinkedIn 2026 #2 | No 2026 benchmark; CDO proxy €135,000 (~$158,000) (Hays 2026) |
| 3 | Logistics analyst | Automating a 1.26-million-worker sector; Barcelona, Madrid | LinkedIn 2026 #3; Randstad 2026 | Supply chain mgr €60,000–90,000 (~$70,000–105,000) (Michael Page 2026) |
| 4 | Civil engineering manager | Housing, public works, grid; Madrid, Badajoz | LinkedIn 2026 #4; ~700,000 construction gap (Qué! 2026) | €30,000–75,000 (~$35,000–88,000) (Michael Page 2026) |
| 5 | IT sales manager | Cloud and AI vendors need commercial leads | LinkedIn 2026 #5 | €80,000–130,000 + variable (~$94,000–152,000) (Adecco TIC 2026) |
| 6 | Commissioning manager | Solar, wind, battery and data-centre handovers | LinkedIn 2026 #6 | Renewables PM €38,000–75,000 (~$44,000–88,000) (Michael Page 2026) |
| 7 | Legal adviser / compliance counsel | Pay-transparency and AI rules | LinkedIn 2026 #8 | Up to €90,000 (~$105,000) in-house (LHH 2026) |
| 8 | Cybersecurity engineer | Most-requested IT profile | Hays 2026; Michael Page 2026 | €42,000–65,000 (~$49,000–76,000) (Randstad Digital 2025) |
| 9 | Data engineer | 91% permanent contracts offered | SEPE Perfiles de la Oferta de Empleo 2025 | Up to €90,000 (~$105,000) (LHH 2026) |
| 10 | Electrician / installer | Grid, data-centre and housing work outrun supply | SEPE shortage catalogue Q3 2026 | Collective-agreement rates; not in 2026 guides |
| 11 | Nurse / clinical support | ~100,000 nurses below EU ratio | LinkedIn 2026 #15; CGE 2025 | Public pay scales; not in 2026 guides |
Two things unite the list. Almost every role sits where a physical build-out meets software: data centres need electricians and commissioning managers as much as AI engineers. And the roles skew senior: Adecco’s TIC guide notes junior IT demand is falling while senior AI, data and security talent stays scarce.
The official and private signals also diverge. LinkedIn’s list is a white-collar picture drawn from member profiles; SEPE’s catalogue and its Perfiles de la Oferta de Empleo study describe vacancies that clear through public employment services, and 89% of early-years technician offers there asked for a higher vocational (FP) qualification. Spain’s skills gap is as vocational as it is digital.
What is driving demand for these professions?
Five forces are pulling Spanish hiring in 2026: data-centre investment and AI adoption, a construction labour shortage, re-industrialisation and the energy transition, logistics and tourism volumes, and an ageing population plus an immigration reform that formalised over a million workers.
AI adoption and the Aragón data-centre boom
The largest private investment behind Spain’s rising jobs is Amazon Web Services’ programme in Aragón. According to the Ministry for Digital Transformation’s March 2026 note, AWS will invest €33.7 billion across Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel, supporting about 29,900 jobs a year, roughly 6,700 of them full-time; Randstad Research singles out Aragón for ICT job growth as a result.
Adoption is spreading beyond the hyperscalers: Hays’ 2026 guide reports that 62% of Spanish professionals use AI daily, up from 34% in 2024, and Adecco’s TIC 2026 guide puts IT employment growth at about 4.5%, led by AI developers and data-governance specialists.
Construction, housing and infrastructure
Spain is building homes, grid connections and public works with a workforce that shrank after 2008. Qué! reported in August 2026 that employers’ associations estimate a gap of around 700,000 workers, with bricklayers, electricians, plumbers and welders hardest to fill; the Q3 2026 EPA still shows construction employment up 30,500 over the year.
The shortage is now written into immigration law. SEPE’s Catálogo de Ocupaciones de Difícil Cobertura for Q3 2026, published in the BOE on 2 September 2026, lists PVC and metal fitters, electricians and crane operators in every province, so employers can sponsor non-EU hires directly.
Re-industrialisation and the energy transition
Randstad Research’s January 2026 outlook called industry the most dynamic sector, with 125,000 jobs added over four quarters, led by metal manufacturing in the Basque Country, Madrid and Catalonia, automotive in Catalonia and Navarre, and aerospace and defence around Madrid. Indra alone announced 2,400 technology and defence hires in June 2025.
The energy side shows in pay guides: LHH’s 2026 guide lists project development managers for solar, wind and battery storage at up to €70,000 plus a 21% variable, the market behind LinkedIn’s commissioning managers. One caution: the Q3 2026 EPA shows industrial employment 25,900 lower than a year earlier.
Logistics and tourism volumes
Logistics and transport employ 1.26 million people, 5.6% of Spain’s workforce, and added 26,000 jobs in the four quarters to January 2026, according to Randstad Research, which expects HGV drivers, warehouse managers and automation engineers to be most sought; Qué! puts the driver gap at about 30,000. LinkedIn’s #3 role, logistics analyst, sits on top of that workforce.
Tourism remains a volume employer: Randstad counted 68,000 new hospitality jobs over the same period, and Qué! reports roughly 50,000 unfilled waiter and cook positions, concentrated in the Canaries, Balearics, Catalonia and Valencia.
Ageing, care and the 2026 immigration reform
Spain has about 6.45 nurses per 1,000 inhabitants against an EU average of 8.12, and the Consejo General de Enfermería puts the shortfall at roughly 100,000 in its 2025 ratio report.
Labour supply changed in April 2026 when Royal Decree 316/2026 amended the Reglamento de Extranjería (RD 1155/2024) and opened an extraordinary regularisation for people in Spain before 1 January 2026, with applications until 30 June and provisional work authorisation from admission. Qué! reports close to 1.2 million applications; in the Q3 2026 EPA, foreign-national employment rose 75,400 while Spanish-national employment fell.
What do the rising jobs pay in Spain?
Typical advertised ranges in 2026 run from about €42,000–65,000 for cybersecurity specialists and €45,000–70,000 for AI engineers to €80,000–130,000 plus variable for enterprise IT sales managers, with Madrid and Barcelona paying 25–40% more than Valencia or Sevilla for senior roles. These are advertised ranges, not promises.
| Role | Typical advertised range (gross, per year) | Source / year |
|---|---|---|
| AI specialist / engineer | €45,000–70,000 (~$53,000–82,000); €80,000+ at top firms | Randstad Digital, 2025 |
| Cybersecurity specialist / architect | €42,000–65,000 (~$49,000–76,000); architect up to €100,000 | Randstad Digital 2025; Adecco TIC 2026 |
| Enterprise IT sales manager | €80,000–130,000 + variable (~$94,000–152,000) | Adecco TIC, 2026 |
| Data engineer | Up to €90,000 (~$105,000) + variable | LHH, 2026 |
| Supply chain manager (large firm) | €60,000–90,000 (~$70,000–105,000) by experience | Michael Page, 2026 |
| Civil engineer / project lead (large firm) | €30,000–75,000 (~$35,000–88,000) by experience | Michael Page, 2026 |
| Financial controller (large firm) | €42,000–80,000 (~$49,000–94,000) by experience | Michael Page, 2026 |
| CISO, by city | €135,000 (~$158,000) Madrid/Barcelona; €95,000 (~$111,000) elsewhere | Hays, 2026 |
Pay pressure is concentrated. Hays projects IT salaries rising about 6% in 2026 and reports that 93% of companies struggle to find qualified talent; Michael Page expects an average rise of 3.5%, with 8–10% in technology. The minimum wage rose 3.1% to €1,221 a month (RD 126/2026).
Transparency is the regulatory story of 2026. Companies already keep a pay register under RD 902/2020, and Directive (EU) 2023/970, whose June 2026 deadline Spain missed, will require a salary range in adverts or before the first interview. Geography still matters: Hays puts a CIO at €175,000 in Madrid against €135,000–140,000 elsewhere.
Which skills, degrees and certifications unlock these roles?
Spain’s rising roles split into regulated professions needing a recognised degree and registration (nursing, civil engineering, electrical installation) and market-certified roles where vendor certifications count more than the degree (AI, cybersecurity, supply chain). Employers increasingly ask for English and three-plus years’ experience.
- AI engineer: computer science or maths degree plus a master’s in AI; AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty, Azure AI Engineer Associate or Google Professional ML Engineer.
- Cybersecurity engineer: CompTIA Security+ at entry, then CISSP, CISM or OSCP; knowledge of the Esquema Nacional de Seguridad and ISO 27001.
- Data engineer: AWS Data Engineer Associate, Google Professional Data Engineer or Databricks certifications; SEPE found most offers ask for 3+ years and English.
- Civil engineering manager: Grado en Ingeniería Civil plus the enabling Máster de Caminos and college registration; PMP or PRINCE2; the Tarjeta Profesional de la Construcción.
- Commissioning manager: electrical or industrial engineering degree; GWO Basic Safety Training for wind; PMP; REBT low-voltage qualification for signing off electrical work.
- Electrician: FP Grado Medio in Instalaciones Eléctricas and the REBT installer card.
- Logistics analyst: APICS CSCP or CPIM; Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
The kurums Courses & Certifications directory lists providers of these programmes, and the MBA & Business Education directory covers business schools feeding roles such as AI director. See also our guide to certifications for 2026’s rising jobs.
Where are the jobs? Regional hotspots
Madrid and Barcelona capture more than 62% of technology vacancies, but infrastructure jobs are growing fastest in Aragón and Extremadura; Málaga (2.7%) and Sevilla (2.3%) form a second tech tier, the coast dominates tourism and the Basque Country anchors industrial engineering.
| Region / city | Rising roles | Why (source) |
|---|---|---|
| Madrid | AI engineers and directors, IT sales, civil engineering, defence | First city for four of LinkedIn’s top five; highest Hays bands |
| Barcelona and Tarragona | Logistics analysts, AI engineers, automotive, pharma | LinkedIn: first for logistics analysts; co-leads tech vacancies (Adecco) |
| Zaragoza, Huesca, Teruel | Data-centre build and operations, electricians, commissioning | AWS €33.7bn, ~29,900 jobs a year (Ministry 2026) |
| Valencia and Alicante | AI engineers, AI directors, tourism | LinkedIn city lists; Hays bands below Madrid |
| Canaries, Balearics, coast | Hospitality management, merchant-marine crew | Randstad 2026; SEPE Q3 2026 |
Which professions are losing ground?
Routine administrative, retail and back-office roles, generalist and junior IT profiles and legacy web stacks are the main losers in Spain’s 2026 market, while industrial and agricultural headcount softened during the year. The shift is gradual rather than a cliff.
Randstad Research estimated that about 2 million Spanish jobs, 9.8% of the total, are exposed to automation, with a potential net loss of 400,000 between 2023 and 2033. Exposure is heaviest in commerce (158,415 fewer jobs), administration (147,915) and hospitality (112,770), while programming and consulting gain 76,364.
Inside technology, Adecco reports falling demand for generalist and entry-level profiles, and Hays names PHP and Ruby on Rails developers as 2026’s least-requested. The Q3 2026 EPA shows industry down 25,900 and agriculture down 18,600 year on year.
How should employers in Spain hire for scarce rising roles?
Benchmark pay against the 2026 guides, publish salary ranges before the transparency rules force you to, hire on demonstrated skills, build FP Dual pipelines, use the shortage catalogue and the 2026 regularisation to widen the pool, and use an employer of record if you have no Spanish entity.
Benchmark and publish pay
With Hays, Michael Page, LHH and Adecco all publishing 2026 Spanish ranges, there is no excuse for guessing. Set bands by city tier, since Hays implies Madrid and Barcelona premiums of 25–40% for senior roles, and publish the range as Directive 2023/970 requires.
Hire for skills, grow from inside, use apprenticeships
Hays reports that 93% of employers struggle to find qualified talent, yet 85% of companies believe they run training programmes while only 48% of employees agree. Map administrative and finance staff into controller, data-analyst and compliance tracks before recruiting externally, and use FP Dual apprenticeships to grow electricians and logistics technicians.
Work the immigration routes and get benefits right
Three channels matter in 2026: the quarterly shortage catalogue for direct sponsorship; the reformed Reglamento de Extranjería (RD 1155/2024), which broadened work-based arraigo with provisional work authorisation once a file is admitted; and the RD 316/2026 regularisation. Our guide to expat HR in Spain covers paperwork and onboarding.
Foreign employers hiring a few Spanish engineers can use an employer-of-record provider to run payroll and Social Security without incorporating. See the kurums comparison of employee benefits across Europe and Türkiye and the job boards by country directory for Spain’s platforms.
What should job seekers and career changers do in 2026?
Pick a rising role adjacent to what you already do, prove it with a recognised certification rather than a second degree, and use the fact that 93% of employers report hiring difficulty to negotiate training and pay.
- Map your role to its rising neighbour. Administrative and finance staff move most naturally into controller or compliance roles (Michael Page 2026: €42,000–80,000 for controllers).
- Buy one credential, not a career restart. A cloud ML or security certification plus a portfolio beats a second degree; an electrical FP leads to a nationwide shortage occupation.
- Check the shortage catalogue if coming from abroad. Non-EU candidates in listed occupations can be sponsored directly; others need the highly qualified permit or EU Blue Card.
- Negotiate on transparency. Ask for the salary band before the first interview and check our country-by-country salary comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest-growing job in Spain in 2026?
AI engineer tops LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise 2026 list for Spain, followed by AI director and logistics analyst. Randstad Digital’s 2025 guide put AI specialist pay at €45,000–70,000, above €80,000 at leading tech companies.
Which occupations are on Spain’s shortage list for work visas?
SEPE’s Q3 2026 Catálogo de Ocupaciones de Difícil Cobertura lists metal and PVC fitters, electricians, crane operators and professional athletes and coaches in every province, plus merchant-marine roles in coastal provinces. Listing lets an employer sponsor a work permit directly.
How much more do rising jobs pay in Madrid than elsewhere in Spain?
Hays’ 2026 guide shows senior technology roles paying 25–40% more in Madrid and Barcelona: a CISO earns around €135,000 there against €95,000 in Valencia, Bilbao or Sevilla.
Did the 2026 immigration regularisation change hiring in Spain?
Yes. Royal Decree 316/2026 opened an extraordinary regularisation for people in Spain before 1 January 2026, with provisional work authorisation from admission. Qué! reports close to 1.2 million applications, and the Q3 2026 EPA shows the quarter’s entire employment gain came from foreign nationals.
Sources and method
- LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise 2026: Spain — The Local Spain / LinkedIn, 2026
- Encuesta de Población Activa, Q3 2026 — INE, 2026
- Los perfiles de la oferta de empleo 2025 — SEPE, 2025
- Catálogo de Ocupaciones de Difícil Cobertura, Q3 2026 — BOE / SEPE, 2026
- Motores del empleo en 2026 — Randstad Research, 2026
- 10 perfiles digitales más demandados — Randstad Digital, 2025
- Guía Salarial TIC 2026 — Grupo Adecco, 2026
- Guía Salarial 2026 — LHH Recruitment Solutions, 2026
- Estudio de Remuneración 2026 España — Michael Page, 2026
- Hays Guía del Mercado Laboral 2026: IT salaries — CIO España / Hays, 2026
- AWS invierte 33.700 millones en Aragón — Ministerio de Transformación Digital, 2026
- Las profesiones con más demanda en España — Qué!, 2026
- España necesita 100.000 enfermeras — Redacción Médica / CGE, 2026
- La IA podría eliminar 400.000 empleos — Forbes España / Randstad Research, 2024
Method: LinkedIn’s 2026 Spain ranking combined with SEPE’s Q3 2026 shortage catalogue, its 2025 vacancy-profile study and 2026 Randstad, Hays and Michael Page signals; USD at about €1 = $1.17. Figures checked November 2026.
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