Data / Labor market / Spain

Labor market in Spain

The latest figures for 8 indicators in Spain, how the autonomous communities compare, and the source of each figure.

Figures last updated on 2026-10-12.

Unemployment rate

Unemployment rate in Spain was 9.87% in Q2 2026, down 0.42 percentage points from Q2 2025.

Of 19 autonomous communities in Q2 2026, Ceuta had the highest unemployment rate (22.41%) and Balearic Islands the lowest (6.11%).

Spain, Q2 20269.87%Down 0.42 percentage points from Q2 2025History
Highest, Q2 202622.41%Ceuta
Lowest, Q2 20266.11%Balearic Islands
Ceuta: 22.41 %Ceuta22.41Melilla: 20.74 %Melilla20.74Andalusia: 14.56 %Andalusia14.56Extremadura: 13.22 %Extremadura13.22Castilla-La Mancha: 11.81 %Castilla-La Mancha11.81Canary Islands: 11.6 %Canary Islands11.6Valencian Community: 10.88 %Valencian Community10.88Region of Murcia: 10.83 %Region of Murcia10.83Asturias: 9.12 %Asturias9.12La Rioja: 8.77 %La Rioja8.77
Top 10 autonomous communities, Q2 2026. %. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística.

Highest and lowest autonomous communities

Full ranking of autonomous communities. Sources: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Encuesta de Población Activa: tasa de paro por comunidad autónoma (tabla 65334).

Registered unemployment rate

Registered unemployment rate in Spain was 7.41% (estimated) in September 2026, down 0.13 percentage points from September 2025.

Of 19 autonomous communities in September 2026, Ceuta had the highest registered unemployment rate (13.94%) and Balearic Islands the lowest (3.09%).

Spain, September 20267.41%Down 0.13 percentage points from September 2025History
Highest, September 202613.94%Ceuta
Lowest, September 20263.09%Balearic Islands
Ceuta: 13.94 %Ceuta13.94Melilla: 13.18 %Melilla13.18Andalusia: 9.38 %Andalusia9.38Extremadura: 9.2 %Extremadura9.2Canary Islands: 8.92 %Canary Islands8.92Castilla-La Mancha: 8.49 %Castilla-La Mancha8.49Valencian Community: 8.37 %Valencian Community8.37Asturias: 8.11 %Asturias8.11Basque Country: 7.77 %Basque Country7.77Region of Murcia: 7.33 %Region of Murcia7.33
Top 10 autonomous communities, September 2026. %. Source: Invokely.

Highest and lowest autonomous communities

Full ranking of autonomous communities. Sources: Invokely, Paro registrado (SEPE) entre población de 16 a 64 años (Censo anual, INE).

Employment rate

Employment rate in Spain was 53.44% in Q2 2026, up 0.48 percentage points from Q2 2025.

Of 19 autonomous communities in Q2 2026, Balearic Islands had the highest employment rate (62.97%) and Melilla the lowest (41.16%).

Spain, Q2 202653.44%Up 0.48 percentage points from Q2 2025History
Highest, Q2 202662.97%Balearic Islands
Lowest, Q2 202641.16%Melilla
Balearic Islands: 62.97 %Balearic Islands62.97Community of Madrid: 59.08 %Community of Madrid59.08Catalonia: 57.17 %Catalonia57.17Region of Murcia: 55.3 %Region of Murcia55.3Aragon: 54.14 %Aragon54.14La Rioja: 53.73 %La Rioja53.73Navarre: 53.68 %Navarre53.68Ceuta: 53.61 %Ceuta53.61Valencian Community: 52.45 %Valencian Community52.45Castilla-La Mancha: 52.27 %Castilla-La Mancha52.27
Top 10 autonomous communities, Q2 2026. %. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística.

Highest and lowest autonomous communities

Full ranking of autonomous communities. Sources: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Encuesta de Población Activa: tasa de empleo por comunidad autónoma (tabla 65305).

Registered unemployment

Registered unemployment in Spain was 2.38 million (estimated) in September 2026, down 1.7% from September 2025.

Of 19 autonomous communities in September 2026, Andalusia had the highest registered unemployment (536,980) and Melilla the lowest (7,614).

Spain, September 20262.38 millionDown 1.7% from September 2025History
Highest, September 2026536,980Andalusia
Lowest, September 20267,614Melilla
Andalusia: 536,980 personsAndalusia536,980Catalonia: 329,741 personsCatalonia329,741Valencian Community: 296,746 personsValencian Community296,746Community of Madrid: 283,273 personsCommunity of Madrid283,273Canary Islands: 140,303 personsCanary Islands140,303Castilla-La Mancha: 117,687 personsCastilla-La Mancha117,687Galicia: 112,437 personsGalicia112,437Basque Country: 109,188 personsBasque Country109,188Castile and León: 98,831 personsCastile and León98,831Region of Murcia: 77,218 personsRegion of Murcia77,218
Top 10 autonomous communities, September 2026. persons. Source: Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal.

Highest and lowest autonomous communities

Full ranking of autonomous communities. Sources: Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal, Paro registrado por municipios.

Activity rate

Activity rate in Spain was 59.29% in Q2 2026, up 0.26 percentage points from Q2 2025.

Of 19 autonomous communities in Q2 2026, Ceuta had the highest activity rate (69.09%) and Melilla the lowest (51.93%).

Spain, Q2 202659.29%Up 0.26 percentage points from Q2 2025History
Highest, Q2 202669.09%Ceuta
Lowest, Q2 202651.93%Melilla

Highest and lowest autonomous communities

Full ranking of autonomous communities. Sources: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Encuesta de Población Activa: tasa de actividad por comunidad autónoma (tabla 65295).

Youth unemployment rate (under 25)

Youth unemployment rate in Spain was 23.77% in Q2 2026, down 0.77 percentage points from Q2 2025.

Of 19 autonomous communities in Q2 2026, Melilla had the highest youth unemployment rate (80.18%) and Catalonia the lowest (16.05%).

Spain, Q2 202623.77%Down 0.77 percentage points from Q2 2025History
Highest, Q2 202680.18%Melilla
Lowest, Q2 202616.05%Catalonia

Highest and lowest autonomous communities

Full ranking of autonomous communities. Sources: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Encuesta de Población Activa: tasa de paro de menores de 25 años por comunidad autónoma (tabla 65334).

Young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29

Young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) in Spain (ages 15 to 29) was 11.5% in 2025, down 0.5 percentage points from 2024.

Of 19 autonomous communities in 2025, Melilla had the highest young people not in employment, education or training (16.5%) and Basque Country the lowest (7.2%).

Spain, 202511.5%Down 0.5 percentage points from 2024History
Highest, 202516.5%Melilla
Lowest, 20257.2%Basque Country

Highest and lowest autonomous communities

Full ranking of autonomous communities. Sources: Eurostat, European Commission, Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20); Eurostat, European Commission, Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET) by NUTS 2 region, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_22).

Adult participation in education and training, ages 25 to 64

Adult participation in education and training in Spain (ages 25 to 64) was 15.8% in 2025, down 0.2 percentage points from 2024.

Of 19 autonomous communities in 2025, Basque Country had the highest adult participation in education and training (19.8%) and Melilla the lowest (11.5%).

Spain, 202515.8%Down 0.2 percentage points from 2024History
Highest, 202519.8%Basque Country
Lowest, 202511.5%Melilla

Highest and lowest autonomous communities

Full ranking of autonomous communities. Sources: Eurostat, European Commission, Participation rate in education and training in the last 4 weeks, 25 to 64 years (trng_lfse_01); Eurostat, European Commission, Participation rate in education and training in the last 4 weeks by NUTS 2 region, 25 to 64 years (trng_lfse_04).

Sources and citations

Each figure comes from the table cited here. Cite the publisher; these citations include any notice the publisher requires.

  1. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Encuesta de Población Activa: tasa de paro por comunidad autónoma (tabla 65334). https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=65334. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
  2. Invokely calculation from Paro registrado (SEPE) entre población de 16 a 64 años (Censo anual, INE). https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#registered_unemployment_rate. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  3. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Encuesta de Población Activa: tasa de empleo por comunidad autónoma (tabla 65305). https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=65305. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
  4. Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE). Paro registrado por municipios. https://www.sepe.es/HomeSepe/que-es-el-sepe/estadisticas/datos-estadisticos/municipios/2026/septiembre.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  5. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Encuesta de Población Activa: tasa de actividad por comunidad autónoma (tabla 65295). https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=65295. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
  6. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Encuesta de Población Activa: tasa de paro de menores de 25 años por comunidad autónoma (tabla 65334). https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=65334. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
  7. Eurostat. Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_20/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  8. Eurostat. Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET) by NUTS 2 region, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_22). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_22/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  9. Eurostat. Participation rate in education and training in the last 4 weeks, 25 to 64 years (trng_lfse_01). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/trng_lfse_01/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  10. Eurostat. Participation rate in education and training in the last 4 weeks by NUTS 2 region, 25 to 64 years (trng_lfse_04). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/trng_lfse_04/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Labor market in other areas

More topics for Spain

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