Business Climate Survey. Section on the Current Entrepreneurial Situation. Q4/2025
In the fourth quarter of 2025, 46.6% of business establishments in Catalonia reported having had difficulties filling a job vacancy in the 3 years prior to the survey, while 39.4% of establishments reported having had no such difficulties. In contrast, 13.4% reported having had no need to fill any job vacancies in the 3 years prior to the survey, a percentage of 32.1% in the case of small establishments (fewer than 10 employees).
Among establishments that experienced difficulties in filling a job vacancy in the 3 years prior to the survey, the main causes reported for these difficulties were a lack of candidates (77.5%), followed by insufficient job-specific technical skills (62.2%) and a mismatch in the level of education (55.1%).
The occupational profiles that were most difficult to fill in the 3 years prior to the survey in the industry and the construction sectors were positions for plant and machine operators, and assemblers (58.6% and 72.7% of the affected establishments, respectively). By contrast, in trade sales, these were sales agents, shop assistants and marketing professionals (39.9%); in the accommodation and food service activities, they were workers in catering, travel agencies and hotel receptionists (81.6%); and in the rest of services, they were accountants, administrative staff and other clerical support workers (31.9%).
When recruiting new staff, the skills most frequently rated as very or fairly important by establishments in Catalonia were the ability to learn (continuous training) and previous work experience in the position, at 94.4% and 90.9%, respectively.
In addition, 70.3% of establishments reported having carried out training activities for employees in 2025 in order to improve their knowledge. The main areas in which training activities were provided were job-specific knowledge (91.0%), information technology (53.5%) and productivity improvement, such as work organisation and time management, among others (51.5%).