The need to hire technological professionals is increasingly transversal. All types of companies require workers with digital skills, whether they are cybersecurity, web development or artificial intelligence.
And one of the main consequences of the high demand for these professionals is the rise in salary. According to the Digital Talent Overview report, published this Tuesday by the Mobile World Capital Foundation, the salaries of digital workers in Barcelona have risen by almost 40% in the last four years.
In 2022, they stood at an average of 46,940 euros gross per year, compared to 33,789 in 2018. "This growth reflects the rise in demand and the increase in the cost of living," Francesc Fajula, general director of the foundation, said on Tuesday. . If compared with other cities, the ranking is led by Zurich, with 148,000 euros, Copenhagen (87,400), London (83,731), Berlin (75,494) and Stockholm (73,963).
Another of the indicators that reflect that the market is in full swing is the tension between job offers and candidates. In Barcelona, for every new job there are 12 professionals available. Last year, there were 15, and five years ago, 17, which shows a clear downward trend in available jobs.
The problem affects all of Europe. In fact, in other cities the market is much more stressed. In London there are barely 2.62 professionals available for each job offer, and in Bucharest and Vienna only 3. The European average stands at 10.89, and the Spanish average at 11.81, so the situation is slightly better in Barcelona .
The fifth edition of the report also points out that salaries in the sector have grown by almost 40% in recent years. On average they stand at 46,940 euros gross per year, compared to 33,789 in 2018. "This significant growth is a reflection of the rise in demand and also the increase in the cost of living," said Francesc Fajula, general director of Mobile World Capital. If compared with other European cities, the ranking is led by Zurich with an average of 148,000 euros, followed by Copenhagen (87,400), London (83,731), Berlin (75,494) and Stockholm (73,963).
Despite the unfavorable economic context, the number of digital jobs has continued to grow. In 2022, the city has reached 100,920 workers, which represents an annual increase of 8%. This is a figure slightly higher than the 81,950 jobs calculated by the Cercle Tecnològic, since this entity only counts ICT companies and not digital hubs from sectors unrelated to technology. In any case, both studies reflect that the digital sector continues to rise. “Even this 2023”, said Jordi Arrufí, director of Barcelona Digital Talent.
The vast majority of companies that lead hiring are not exactly startups subject to pressure from venture capital funds, but multinationals with large established businesses. They stand out in this order: NTT Data, Seidor, Zurich, Adevinta, HP, Accenture, Glovo, Capgemini, BSC and Amazon. It should be added that the presence of large technological companies from the United States in the testimonial city. Therefore, there have been no significant cuts.
The attractiveness of Barcelona -which concentrates a hundred innovation centers of large companies and more than 4,000 startups- is explained by local talent but especially by the city's ability to attract professionals from outside Catalonia. This community already represents a third of the total workers in the sector (and of this total, 15% are from other cities in Spain). The main cities where talent comes from are London (11.5%), Madrid (10.9%), Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Mexico and Paris, with 2% each.
The advancement of the presence of women is another of the noteworthy aspects of the sector. According to the report, if in 2018 there were close to 15,000 women exercising digital professions, in 2022 there are more than 29,000. This acceleration has allowed the weight of women in the group of digital professionals to go from 22% to 28.7%.
