Spain's hospitality hiring forecast tops all sectors

Spain's hospitality sector heads into the fourth quarter with the strongest hospitality hiring forecast of any industry, a net employment expectation of 37%, according to ManpowerGroup.

Hospitality hiring forecast tops the ranking

The figure sits 19 points above the national average of 18%, according to ManpowerGroup's Employment Projection Study for the fourth quarter of 2026, published on September 8. No other sector surveyed comes close.

Spain's kitchens keep hiring plans on the menu long after the terraces close for the season.

Within hospitality, 44% of companies plan to expand their workforce between October and December. 18% expect to cut staff, and 38% plan no change, the study found.

The hospitality hiring forecast also marks the sector's sharpest improvement of the year: up 19 points on the third quarter and 6 points on the same period in 2025.

"Hospitality leads hiring forecasts for year-end and registers one of the labour market's largest gains on the previous quarter," said Chema Fernandez, ManpowerGroup's commercial director, according to the company.

Why hotels and restaurants keep hiring

Technology follows at 27%, ahead of construction and real estate at 24%, industry at 22%, and commerce and logistics at 19%. Energy and natural resources rank lowest, at 9%. Technology firms plan to expand staff at the same rate as hospitality, 44%, but expect fewer cuts, 17% against hospitality's 18%. In commerce and logistics, Antonio Holgado, ManpowerGroup's logistics sector director, said the fourth quarter's intensity from Black Friday and Christmas campaigns requires prepared teams, according to the company.

The hospitality hiring forecast outpaces the wider economy: nationally, employers' net hiring expectation stands at 18%, up 5 points on the previous quarter and 3 points on Q4 2025. Large companies, with 5,000 or more staff, post the highest confidence at 23%; micro-businesses, under 10 employees, have swung from -13% a year ago to 20% now, ManpowerGroup said.

Fernandez attributed hospitality's lead to a season that extends across more months of the year, while pointing to recruitment, training and staff turnover as the sector's persistent weak points. Spain's own 22,000 unfilled floor positions this year illustrate the gap between hiring intent and hiring outcome.

The projection covers October through December, the period when Christmas dinners, New Year events and tourist arrivals in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona typically push staffing needs to their annual peak.

ManpowerGroup will publish its next quarterly outlook in December, when the industry will find out whether October's hiring plans turned into October's payrolls.