Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2012. The Randstad survey figures, Brazil as the sixth-largest economy, the visitor forecasts for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, Chile’s 6.5% unemployment rate and the February 2012 call for 510 Spanish doctors all reflect that time.
We’ve talked about Norway and Germany as destinations for finding work in these difficult times. But the crisis is biting so hard that we have to look to new horizons to find work, even though having to relocate is a big drawback, at least in these cases: Brazil and Chile.
According to the temp agency Randstad, 70% of job seekers are willing to move somewhere else. Of these, 3.4% would opt for English-speaking countries, while one in five would look to move within the European Community. Only 4% would want to escape to Latin America.
This part of the world has two countries in need of workers. It’s no coincidence that Brazil is one of the four leading emerging economies, together with Russia, India and China.
Looking for work in Brazil
It’s the leading power in Latin America and, having overtaken Britain, the sixth-largest economy in the world. The country is getting ready for the 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, which are expected to bring more than 600,000 tourists for the first phase and more than seven million over the whole of 2014. In 2016 visitor numbers are expected to exceed ten million.
Two sectors are set to benefit noticeably: hospitality and construction. Brazil needs architects, building surveyors, interior designers, hotel managers, waiters and even cooks.
Brazil is seen as a country with a future, although it has two major drawbacks as a destination for job seekers:
- Lack of safety on the streets.
- Bureaucratic hurdles when it comes to sorting out paperwork.
Looking for work in Chile
More than forty thousand Spaniards live in Chile, and last year alone the number arriving in search of a job opportunity grew by 20%. It’s a country where the unemployment rate is only 6.5%, where job ads are everywhere on the streets and where Spanish is the official language.
The first in demand are doctors, mining engineers and geologists. In fact, last February the relevant ministry asked for 510 Spanish doctors, including anaesthetists, internal medicine and geriatrics specialists, as well as general emergency doctors and trauma specialists.
The Chilean association of civil engineers says it will need thousands of professionals, especially engineers.
Chile enjoys one of the highest standards of living in South America and one of the lowest crime rates in the Americas.
Featured image: Marinelson Almeida – Traveling through Brazil from Niteroi, Brasil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.



