Data / Rankings / Employment rate / Provinces of Spain

Provinces of Spain by employment rate

Madrid province had the highest employment rate of 52 provinces in Q1 2026, at 58.28%. Melilla province had the lowest, at 40.08%. The median was 50.62% and the figure for Spain was 52.48%. Source: the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.

Highest58.28Madrid province
Lowest40.08Melilla province
Median50.6252 provinces
Spain52.48History

All provinces, Q1 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Madrid provinceMadrid province: 58.28 %58.28Guadalajara provinceGuadalajara province: 56.58 %56.58Barcelona provinceBarcelona province: 56.12 %56.12Lleida provinceLleida province: 56.05 %56.05Huesca provinceHuesca province: 55.94 %55.94Albacete provinceAlbacete province: 54.13 %54.13Santa Cruz de Tenerife provinceSanta Cruz de Tenerife province: 54 %54Murcia provinceMurcia province: 53.87 %53.87Zaragoza provinceZaragoza province: 53.79 %53.79Segovia provinceSegovia province: 53.55 %53.55Girona provinceGirona province: 53.47 %53.47Balearic Islands provinceBalearic Islands province: 53.32 %53.32Valencia provinceValencia province: 53.2 %53.2Navarre provinceNavarre province: 53.15 %53.15Las Palmas provinceLas Palmas province: 52.75 %52.75Málaga provinceMálaga province: 52.32 %52.32La Rioja provinceLa Rioja province: 52.28 %52.28Álava provinceÁlava province: 52.14 %52.14Biscay provinceBiscay province: 52.1 %52.1Castellón provinceCastellón province: 51.85 %51.85Tarragona provinceTarragona province: 51.79 %51.79Teruel provinceTeruel province: 51.79 %51.79Toledo provinceToledo province: 51.38 %51.38Burgos provinceBurgos province: 51.01 %51.01Cantabria provinceCantabria province: 50.65 %50.65Almería provinceAlmería province: 50.62 %50.62Seville provinceSeville province: 50.62 %50.62Valladolid provinceValladolid province: 50.61 %50.61Pontevedra provincePontevedra province: 50.57 %50.57Alicante provinceAlicante province: 50.38 %50.38Lugo provinceLugo province: 50.01 %50.01Gipuzkoa provinceGipuzkoa province: 49.81 %49.81Soria provinceSoria province: 49.74 %49.74A Coruña provinceA Coruña province: 49.64 %49.64Huelva provinceHuelva province: 49.21 %49.21Ceuta provinceCeuta province: 48.71 %48.71Palencia provincePalencia province: 48.66 %48.66Salamanca provinceSalamanca province: 48.12 %48.12Badajoz provinceBadajoz province: 48 %48Cuenca provinceCuenca province: 47.7 %47.7Asturias provinceAsturias province: 47.33 %47.33Córdoba provinceCórdoba province: 47.32 %47.32Ciudad Real provinceCiudad Real province: 46.78 %46.78Granada provinceGranada province: 46.38 %46.38Zamora provinceZamora province: 46.26 %46.26Jaén provinceJaén province: 46.13 %46.13Cáceres provinceCáceres province: 46.05 %46.05Ávila provinceÁvila province: 45.42 %45.42León provinceLeón province: 45.11 %45.11Ourense provinceOurense province: 43.41 %43.41Cádiz provinceCádiz province: 42.92 %42.92Melilla provinceMelilla province: 40.08 %40.08
%. Source: INE. Retrieved 2026-10-07.

Full ranking

RankProvincesQ1 2026 (%)Change on Q1 2025
1Madrid province58.28+0.38 pts
2Guadalajara province56.58+0.35 pts
3Barcelona province56.12-0.65 pts
4Lleida province56.05-0.95 pts
5Huesca province55.94+1.54 pts
6Albacete province54.13+3.18 pts
7Santa Cruz de Tenerife province54+2.5 pts
8Murcia province53.87+2.43 pts
9Zaragoza province53.79+0.22 pts
10Segovia province53.55-0.56 pts
11Girona province53.47-1.68 pts
12Balearic Islands province53.32+0.97 pts
13Valencia province53.2+0.71 pts
14Navarre province53.15-0.75 pts
15Las Palmas province52.75+0.39 pts
16Málaga province52.32+2.31 pts
17La Rioja province52.28-0.83 pts
18Álava province52.14-0.26 pts
19Biscay province52.1-0.87 pts
20Castellón province51.85-1.08 pts
21Tarragona province51.79+1.08 pts
21Teruel province51.79-4.45 pts
23Toledo province51.38+1.01 pts
24Burgos province51.01-1.5 pts
25Cantabria province50.65-0.29 pts
26Almería province50.62-1.65 pts
26Seville province50.62+1.57 pts
28Valladolid province50.61-2.87 pts
29Pontevedra province50.57+1 pts
30Alicante province50.38+2.4 pts
31Lugo province50.01+2.5 pts
32Gipuzkoa province49.81+1.15 pts
33Soria province49.74-3.02 pts
34A Coruña province49.64+0.42 pts
35Huelva province49.21+0.9 pts
36Ceuta province48.71+5.18 pts
37Palencia province48.66+1.92 pts
38Salamanca province48.12-0.66 pts
39Badajoz province48+2.97 pts
40Cuenca province47.7-0.62 pts
41Asturias province47.33-0.25 pts
42Córdoba province47.32-1.04 pts
43Ciudad Real province46.78-0.28 pts
44Granada province46.38+1.8 pts
45Zamora province46.26+0.22 pts
46Jaén province46.13+2.24 pts
47Cáceres province46.05+1.02 pts
48Ávila province45.42+0.69 pts
49León province45.11+1.21 pts
50Ourense province43.41+1.53 pts
51Cádiz province42.92+1.96 pts
52Melilla province40.08-3.29 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Employed people as a percentage of the population aged 16 and over (Spain, EPA) or 20 to 64 (EU headline indicator).

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the provinces are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Encuesta de Población Activa: tasas de actividad, paro y empleo por provincia (tabla 65349). https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=65349. Retrieved 2026-10-07.

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Questions

Which province has the highest employment rate?

Madrid province, with 58.28% in Q1 2026, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.

Which province has the lowest employment rate?

Melilla province, with 40.08% in Q1 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Encuesta de Población Activa: tasas de actividad, paro y empleo por provincia (tabla 65349). Retrieved 2026-10-07.

Employment rate: other rankings

Provinces of Spain: more rankings