According to ECO, knowing how to speak and write English is one of the most common requirements in job advertisements published at the European level. But in certain countries, this competence has a much more significant expression than in others.

Portugal is in the spotlight in this regard. This is because, among the European countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and do not have English as their official language, Portugal is the second in which knowledge of that language is most required in recruitment processes, behind only Luxembourg.

“Requirements linked to knowledge of languages ​​are fundamental in job markets. Previous studies revealed that knowledge of English was the sixth most demanded skill in job vacancies in European countries”, highlights the OECD, in the “Skills Outlook 2023” report released this Monday.

Among the vacancies advertised online in 2022, English was required in at least 33% of opportunities in the following countries, according to the OECD: Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Luxembourg and also Portugal.

In fact, here, 54% of job vacancies directly or indirectly (in the case of advertisements written in English) required this skill, which puts Portugal well above the community average (31%).

Among European countries that do not have English as their official language, only Luxembourg (59%) surpassed Portugal (see graph). In comparison, for example, in Spain, only three in ten of the advertisements mentioned English as a requirement for recruitment.

On the other hand, at the base of this table, Finland appears (with 13% of vacancies requiring this skill), Croatia and Latvia (both with 15%).

In a recent interview with ECO, the specialist in migration from Brazil to Portugal, Patrícia Lemos, explained that knowledge of English was one of the obstacles to the entry of Brazilians into the Portuguese and European job market, since in Brazil this skill is not so widespread or required as here. But to respond to the labor shortage that afflicts Portuguese companies, immigration has been defended as one of the solutions.

In relation to the other languages ​​analyzed by the OECD (French, German and Spanish), Portugal also surpasses the community average. For example, 19% of vacancies advertised online last year required knowledge of Spanish.