Maltese
is the most valuable second language from the EU, worth an average of £42,000
per annum, according to new analysis of over 1,000,000[1]
job vacancies.
With the Brexit deadline now set for the end of January, experts predict language skills will soon become more desirable than ever. With this in mind, leading job search engine, Adzuna, has ranked each language spoken in the EU based on the average salary of advertised jobs listing the language as a requirement.
The
EU languages in order of value are:
| Language | Vacancies | Salary | |
| 1 | Maltese | 10 | £ 42,000.00 |
| 2 | Danish | 255 | £ 36,854.00 |
| 3 | Greek | 104 | £ 34,245.00 |
| 4 | Czech | 195 | £ 32,695.00 |
| 5 | Spanish | 1,406 | £ 31,422.00 |
| 6 | German | 3,373 | £ 31,405.00 |
| 7 | French | 3,297 | £ 31,364.00 |
| 8 | Polish | 1,051 | £ 30,929.00 |
| 9 | Dutch | 1,342 | £ 30,566.00 |
| 10 | Portuguese | 256 | £ 30,219.00 |
| 11 | Croatian | 29 | £ 29,000.00 |
| 12 | Swedish | 377 | £ 28,913.00 |
| 13 | Slovene | 43 | £ 28,150.00 |
| 14 | Finnish | 126 | £ 27,878.00 |
| 15 | Estonian | 14 | £ 27,833.00 |
| 16 | Italian | 1,249 | £ 27,769.00 |
| 17 | Bulgarian | 16 | £ 27,243.00 |
| 18 | Latvian | 38 | £ 27,136.00 |
| 19 | Hungarian | 68 | £ 26,442.00 |
| 20 | Slovak | 50 | £ 25,626.00 |
| 21 | Lithuanian | 54 | £ 24,039.00 |
| 22 | Romanian | 126 | £ 21,405.00 |
Although
competition is fierce with only 10 vacancies across the UK, jobs requiring
Maltese as a spoken language command an average salary of £42,000 – almost
£10,000 higher than the national average advertised salary of
£34,095[1].
French,
German and Spanish were found to be the most in-demand languages in the UK job
market, with a collective 8,076 roles requiring these language skills. However,
when it comes to earning potential Danish, Greek and Czech were all found to be
higher earners.
The
most common second languages of the active UK labour market are French with
3,164,682 speakers; German with 1,700,036; and Spanish with
1,494,070[2].
The labour market is saturated with workers who can speak these languages, which
may be an indicator of why the salaries do not rank as highly as other languages
that are less common.
European
language skills may see an increase in demand post-Brexit if the UK loses access
to the single market and free movement of labour. This means it could be harder
– or even less desirable – for EU citizens to work in the United Kingdom.
Therefore, businesses that have multilingual workers may find it easier to
secure contacts in the EU than companies that have less language
diversity.
Andrew
Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, comments: “Brexit
may bring a lot of uncertainty in the job market, but demand for employees who
can speak multiple languages should see an increase. British companies will be
looking for a competitive edge post-Brexit and being able to converse with
European customers in their native tongue is a powerful way to add value and
enables businesses to build long-lasting relationships.
“Although people are sometimes reluctant to learn languages at school [5], there are so many fun ways to learn, whether it be through apps, night classes, or making friends with those who speak the language. If you’re looking to improve your employability, learning a second language should stand you in good stead, as it shows you’re adaptable and gives you a point of difference against other candidates, regardless of what happens with the country’s departure from the European Union.”
For more information, visit www.adzuna.co.uk
