Spanish companies anticipate a worsening of the economic situation this year, although the impact on the labour market will be limited, according to research from Randstad Spain in collaboration with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE).

More than 300 Spanish companies were surveyed for the research throughout November and December 2023.

The report showed that 77% of the companies surveyed foresee a slight or significant worsening of the international economic situation, a percentage that rises to 82% in the case of the Spanish economy. Furthermore, 51% of companies predict a worse situation within their sector and 31% within their own company.

Despite the grim economic forecast, the impact on employment is expected to be small. The data showed that 2 in 10 companies estimate a headcount reduction throughout 2024, while the majority (59%) foresee steadiness and 21% believe that it may increase during this year. Randstad also noted an improvement compared to the outlook survey for 2023, when 3 out of 10 companies expressed doubts about maintaining their workforce.

Meanwhile, talent shortages are set to remain the number one challenge in human resources in 2024. Finding the right talent and knowing how to retain it, through measures that increase employee well-being and competitive remuneration, are the areas of greatest importance and complexity for human resources in the current context, the research showed.

According to the survey, 57% of companies have responded that the shortage of professionals (talent deficit) is the main challenge for the human resources department, followed by talent loyalty (48%) and attraction and selection of professionals (46%).

Companies are already observing that the lack of professionals is already having an impact on productivity (98%), competitiveness (95%), ability to satisfy customer needs (93%) and, ultimately, in the financial results (91%).

Randstad’s survey also showed that 90% of companies assure that AI technology has not had significant effects on the number of workers in companies, while 8% said the impact was positive and 2% said there have been workforce reductions directly associated with AI technology.

Looking to the future, companies believe that AI can contribute to reducing the problem of talent deficit (37%). Nearly half of the companies consulted already use AI for some tasks, including data analysis and prediction (49%), optimisation of administrative tasks (38%), automation of production processes (36%), customer service (33%) or virtual assistants (30%).