Spain adds 232,000 jobs in May, hitting 22.3 million record, as foreign workers drive half the gains

Spain's labor market set a new record in May, with Social Security affiliations climbing to 22,337,806, an increase of 231,975 from April. The figure marks the highest level ever recorded and the second-largest May increase in the historical series, surpassed only by the 237,207 jobs added in May 2018. The data, published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, showed broad-based gains across sectors and demographics.

Seasonal hiring and sector breakdown

May is traditionally a strong month for employment as businesses prepare for the summer season, and this year was no exception. The hospitality sector led the gains, adding 67,257 jobs, roughly one-third of the total monthly increase. Administrative activities and auxiliary services followed with 28,782 new affiliations, while commerce added 16,487 and construction contributed 14,143. The services sector accounted for more than 80% of the decline in unemployment, with 29,829 fewer jobless claims in that category alone.

Foreign workers and the regularization effect

A striking feature of the May data was the role of foreign workers, who accounted for 111,301 new affiliations, nearly half of the total monthly gain. This is the highest share of foreign-worker job growth recorded in a single month of May. The number of foreign nationals affiliated with Social Security now stands at 3.36 million, representing 15% of the total workforce. The surge coincides with the second month of an extraordinary migrant regularization process that began in mid-April. The government has received 549,596 applications, of which nearly 150,000 have been processed. While the Social Security ministry did not explicitly link the employment jump to the regularization in its initial analysis, the figures suggest an early impact.

Unemployment falls to a 19-year low for May

Registered unemployment fell by 36,323 people in May, bringing the total to 2,320,721. This is the lowest figure for the month of May since 2007, before the global financial crisis. Compared to May 2025, unemployment dropped by 134,162 people, a decline of 5.47%. However, the monthly reduction was more modest than in previous years. Excluding the anomalous pandemic period, it was the weakest May decline since 2012, when Spain was still in the grip of the Great Recession. In 2024 and 2025, May unemployment fell by around 58,000 people, and in earlier expansionary cycles, the drop reached nearly 120,000.

Demographic records across the board

The record employment figures were reflected across multiple demographic groups. Female employment reached an all-time high of nearly 10.6 million, representing 47.5% of all workers, up one percentage point from 2018. Male employment also hit a record at 11.74 million. The number of self-employed workers reached 3.46 million, and youth unemployment fell below 165,000 for the first time in a May. Daily affiliation data peaked between May 25 and 28, briefly surpassing 22.4 million.

We must first thank the workers and companies for these figures; but they are also the product of well-directed policies, such as the labor reform. Since its implementation, Spain has 2.3 million more employed people and temporary employment has fallen to 11.8%, compared to 31.1% in May 2018.

Broader economic context

The year-on-year increase in affiliations reached 553,431, a growth rate of 2.54%, the highest in more than two years. The seasonally adjusted series, which strips out calendar effects, also reached a record of 22.1 million contributors, extending a streak of 64 consecutive months of increases. The labor market's strength comes despite a complex international economic and geopolitical backdrop, with the government highlighting that Spain continues to lead job creation among major European economies.