Spain's unemployment rate falls below 10% as employment hits record 22.78 million

National snapshot

Spain's labour market set a new record in the second quarter of 2026. The number of people in work rose by 486,000 from the previous quarter to 22,779,000, the highest figure ever recorded, according to the INE's labour force survey (EPA). Unemployment fell by 213,300, pushing the jobless rate down 0.96 percentage points to 9.87%, the first time it has dipped below 10% since 2008. The total number of unemployed stood at 2,495,300. The activity rate edged up to 59.29%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the economy added 122,000 jobs in the quarter, accelerating from the first quarter's 0.44% growth, and marked the sixth consecutive quarter with year-on-year employment gains above half a million. The Ministry of Economy noted that the seasonally adjusted employment level reached a record 22,669,300. The 213,300 quarterly fall in unemployment was the smallest for a second quarter since 2021.

Regional divide

The national gains masked sharp regional differences. Madrid led job creation with 62,100 new positions, pushing total employment to 3,631,300, the highest for any second quarter on record, and its unemployment rate fell to 7.58%, the lowest since 2008. Aragón added 5,300 jobs to reach a record 643,300, with a jobless rate of 8.17%. Navarra created 5,100 jobs (rate 8.07%) and La Rioja 4,600 (rate 8.77%). In contrast, Galicia lost 6,100 jobs despite a 12.8% drop in unemployment, and the Canary Islands shed 25,100 positions, the largest absolute decline, even as its jobless total fell slightly to a rate of 11.6%, the lowest Q2 level since 2007. Asturias was the only region where unemployment rose, up 900 to 43,500 (rate 9.12%), marking two consecutive quarters of increases. Year-on-year, several regions saw employment destruction: Asturias lost 5,400 jobs, Navarra 2,900, and La Rioja 800, while Aragón and Madrid added 19,500 and 50,000 respectively.

Contract quality

The expansion continued to be driven by permanent contracts. Nationally, the number of employees on indefinite contracts rose by 571,900 over the past year, and the temporary employment rate fell to 15%, dropping to 12.3% in the private sector. In Madrid, indefinite contracts increased by 45,600 in the quarter alone, and in Aragón by 5,600. However, temporary contracts also grew in several regions, including Asturias (+4,500) and Navarra (+2,400). The Canary Islands bucked the trend, losing 16,500 indefinite and 24,300 temporary contracts. Public-sector hiring contributed in some areas: Aragón added 8,800 public jobs and Navarra 1,600, while private-sector employment rose by 3,500 in Navarra.

Youth unemployment

Young workers did not share in the improvement. The number of unemployed under-25s rose in most regions: by 6,200 in the Canary Islands, 1,900 in Madrid, 1,600 in both Navarra and Aragón, and 1,300 in Asturias. In La Rioja the youth jobless count held steady at 3,500. The youth unemployment rate reached 27.78% in the Canary Islands, 27.45% in Navarra, 25.67% in La Rioja, 24.14% in Asturias, 21.06% in Aragón, and 19.81% in Madrid.

Households and political backdrop

The number of households where all active members are unemployed fell by 86,500 in the quarter to 764,200, and by 32,700 over the year. The strong labour data arrived against a backdrop of corruption scandals that have dominated Spanish political life, yet the economy appears to have decoupled from the turmoil, as noted by ABC.