Workers Prefer Spain

Spain has become the most popular destination for Europeans thinking of working abroad, ahead of the UK according to a Financial Times/Harris poll taken in five European countries.

The poll portrays Spain as a country at ease with itself: its citizens are relaxed about immigration and are the most optimistic among any big European country that their lives are getting better.

The poll of 6,561 adults in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain offers an insight into the factors that are pushing and pulling migration in Europe and the extent to which it is seen as a political problem.

“The survey found that while the UK was second only to Spain in its attractiveness as a work destination, British citizens have become hostile to immigration from within the EU. Almost half, 47% of Britons saying it had a “negative impact” on their economy,” published the Financial Times.

Spain was the country in which foreigners would most like to work (17%) followed by UK (15%) France (11%) and Italy (6%). French and Italian citizens were the most likely to want to emigrate to Spain.

The poll showed that a total of 42% of Spaniards believed immigration was good for the economy, compared with 19% in Britain and France. However, a large majority of Spanish respondents (71 %) still wanted tighter border controls, a reflection of illegal immigration from Africa.