Barcelona is now attracting more international digital talent than ever before

Barcelona continues to consolidate its status as a hub for technological talent. Job openings in the digital industry soared in 2021, with almost 25,000 job opportunities, 43.4% more than the previous year. The data from the Digital Talent Overview show that 2 out of 10 job vacancies in Barcelona are in the digital field.

The Digital Talent Overview report is presented each year by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Cercle Tecnològic de Catalunya, as part of the Barcelona Digital Talent initiative. This is a public-private partnership that seeks to bridge the digital talent gap and promote market competitiveness.

Barcelona attracts talent from all over the world

Starting in late 2021, Barcelona has seen a renewed increase in the arrival of international talent, and at higher rates than in previous years. Last year, the city attracted 4,737 digital professionals from other cities, 16% more than in 2019.

London is the city exporting the greatest number of professionals to Barcelona. And cybersecurity and app development top the list of specialisations attracting international talent to the city.

Women are increasingly gaining ground in the sector

Barcelona is among the cities with the highest percentages of women working in the digital industry at 29.23%, surpassing cities such as Berlin, Paris and London.

In 2021, Barcelona reached parity in UX/UI design, with 50.68% women working in this field. However, the city still has to reduce the gender gap in other specific areas such as the cloud, cybersecurity and blockchain, with the lowest rates of recruitment of women.

The most sought-after specialisations

In Barcelona’s digital ecosystem, web developers still make up the majority of digital professionals (37.7%). They are followed by UX/UI designers (22.2%) and CRM/ERP consultants (9%). These three specialisations account for 75% of digital talent and 60% of demand for profiles. The report also reveals that cloud professionals and cybersecurity specialists are the hardest to find in the market.