The job market has never been more competitive, so it’s never been more important to give yourself that extra edge. ForexBonuses reveals the second languages that it’s most beneficial to learn based on employment figures and availability.

Always wanted to learn a new language but lacked the motivation? This new study could be just what you need. The research by ForexBonuses reveals which languages increase potential job prospects compared to being bilingual in others, and the potential average salary for knowing how to speak German, French, Russian and many others.

You’re speaking my language

ForexBonuses has gathered together the research to reveal which second language is the most valuable to know or learn. The languages are ranked in terms of usefulness both in the UK and abroad, based on how many jobs are available for the speakers compared to the bilingual average, how many countries have it as an official language and the estimated number of people who speak it fluently. And, of course, the average annual salary for the jobs with that specific language requirement.

Here are the top results:

• German: The most valuable second language, speaking German opens up 265 per cent more jobs compared to the bilingual average, and provides an average salary of just over £24,000.
• French: French is an official or co-official language in 41 countries, and knowing how to speak it still increases your job opportunities by 190 per cent. According to the Foreign Service Institute, French is the third-easiest language for English speakers to learn, so no excuses!
• Russian: Knowing how to speak Russian gives you less job opportunities, but the highest potential average salary of £31,269. Therefore, choosing to learn Russian for employment prospects is a toss-up between the skill technically being the most valuable but the demand fairly low.
• Arabic: Similar to learning Russian, learning Arabic doesn’t increase your job prospects compared to the bilingual average, but does offer a high average annual salary of over £29,000 for jobs with that specific language requirement.
• Spanish: over half a billion people speak fluent Spanish around the world, but this doesn’t seem to dampen job prospects, as knowing this language increases your options by 18% compared to the bilingual average.

Languages have been chosen from the most spoken across the world. The results for the average number of jobs and average salary were found across two websites in order to maximise accuracy. Check out this infographic from ForexBonuses for more.