Brits help drive Spain’s autónomo boom as Spanish self-employed numbers fall

Since July 2022, Spain has welcomed 132,466 foreign self-employed individuals, while the number of self-employed Spanish nationals has decreased by 7,630, according to data from the Union of Autonomous Professionals and Workers (UPTA). This net increase has been driven by foreign workers, who now account for more than the entire growth in Spain's self-employed workforce.

Foreign self-employed workers represent 15.4% of the entire Spanish autónomo workforce, up from around 12% four years ago. The largest group of foreign autónomos comes from China, with 71,242 registered, followed by Romania with 55,051, Italy with 44,358, Morocco with 34,919, and the United Kingdom with 26,416. The growth in foreign self-employed workers is not evenly distributed across Spain, with Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Madrid, and Andalucía accounting for almost seven out of ten foreign autónomos.

Foreign self-employed workers are increasingly involved in sectors beyond traditional immigrant entrepreneurship, such as professional services, transport, property, and telecommunications. The UPTA is advocating for foreign entrepreneurship to become a permanent part of policies aimed at tackling generational replacement, with easier administrative procedures and improved access to finance.

Spain is also cracking down on "falsos autónomos," workers registered as self-employed but working as employees, which is particularly significant in sectors like delivery services.