The Spanish technology sector is struggling to find the employees it needs, despite offering salaries averaging 47,300 euros gross per year. The majority of ... companies (90.4%) admit to having had difficulties recruiting staff over the past year and more than half (54.3%) face this problem on a regular basis.
The situation has barely changed from last year, when only 9.7% of companies claimed to be able to fill their vacancies without difficulty, compared with the current figure of 9.6%. The data comes from the 2026 study on salaries and labour policy in the digital technology sector by Ametic.
Despite the difficulty in finding staff, the sector has not scaled back its recruitment plans. At the start of the year, almost half of companies expected to increase their workforce in 2026, while 44.6% expected to maintain it and only 6.5% were considering cuts.
Meanwhile, wages have risen by 3.1% year-on-year, although there are considerable differences between companies and job roles. Companies with more than 100 employees pay an average of 50,700 euros, some 2,600 euros more than smaller firms, while there is hardly any difference between those in the technology services sector (47,300 euros) and manufacturers and distributors of goods (46,900).
However, within the sector, there is a paradox regarding the best-paid roles. The highest-paid departments in technology companies are not those dedicated to programming or systems infrastructure. Sales and marketing top the salary rankings with an average gross annual salary of 64,000 euros, 34% more than software development, where the average salary stands at 47,700 euros. Between the two lies consultancy and strategy, at 62,000 euros, while business support stands at 54,400 euros.
Technical departments fall short of these figures. Systems infrastructure has an average salary of 44,200 euros and maintenance, 43,000 euros. In last place is the plant department, which is linked to more operational tasks, with an average annual salary of 34,400 euros.
The differences become more pronounced when analysing specific roles. A consultancy and strategy manager earns an average of 88,453 euros, compared with 72,944 euros for a systems infrastructure manager or 61,580 euros for a chief data officer. Project managers earn 56,900 euros and software architects 54,428 euros, whilst internal cybersecurity managers earn an average of 50,190 euros. Among technical roles, programmer analysts earn 36,022 euros and senior systems technicians 40,659.
"The data confirms that the digital technology sector offers stable employment and rising wages, but the shortage of qualified talent remains the major bottleneck to its growth. We need to strengthen training and attract more people, particularly women, to digital professions," Ametic's digital policy and talent director Beatriz García-Quismondo says.
Lack of female workforce
The proportion of women in the technology sector has increased by barely 0.1% over the past year. Women account for 39.3% of the workforce, compared with 60.7% for men, and their share has risen by just 0.9% over the past five years. Progress remains limited despite initiatives to encourage women to pursue Stem careers and to promote greater equality within companies.
The profile of the workforce also reflects the importance of specialised training: 68.2% have a higher education qualification, a figure that rises to 78.1% in companies with fewer than 100 employees. Computer science and telecommunications together account for 53.4% of degrees, followed by industrial engineering (10.5%) and business administration and economics (9.4%). The average age of the workforce stands at 39.5 years, although it is slightly lower in service sector companies (38.7 years) than in those specialising in technology products (41.7 years).
Permanent contracts continue to account for the majority in the technology sector, although their share has fallen over the past year: 92.5% of contracts are permanent, compared with 94.1% in the previous financial year. The proportion has risen slightly in service sector companies, to 92.9%, and in companies with more than 100 employees, where it stands at 92.7%.
Remote working is also part of the sector's standard working conditions, with 68.3% of companies offering remote working to their entire workforce, with an average of two days a week, while only 4.9% do not offer this option. Service sector companies allow their staff to work from home for the longest periods, with an average of 2.4 days a week, compared with 1.7 days in organisations with more than 100 employees.
Flexible working hours are available in 76.7% of companies, while 67.4% offer medical check-ups and 51.2% include private health insurance among their employee benefits. Furthermore, 72.7% operate flexible remuneration schemes linked to targets or other criteria. The average annual working hours total 1,772 hours and employees are entitled to 23.1 days' annual leave.