Employment in Spain lost momentum at the height of the summer, according to the latest Labour Force Survey (EPA) released for the third quarter of ... 2026.
While total employment reached a new record high of 22.8 million people in work, the quarterly gain of 73,600 jobs represents the smallest third-quarter increase since 2019. At the same time, unemployment rose by 95,900 people - the sharpest summer increase since 2020 - bringing the total number of unemployed to 2.5 million.
The quarterly shift pushed the national unemployment rate up by 0.3 percentage points to 10.18 per cent. Despite the seasonal uptick, this remains the lowest third-quarter unemployment rate recorded in Spain since 2007.
Job creation cooled to a year-on-year rate of 2.09 per cent at the end of September, compared with third-quarter job gains of 118,000 in 2025, 138,000 in 2024, and 188,000 in 2023. Over the past 12 months, Spain has gained a total of 466,000 employed people.
Foreign workers drive employment gains as private sector shrinks
The active labour force expanded by 169,500 people during the quarter to reach a record 25.4 million, driven in part by ongoing extraordinary regularisation processes for foreign nationals.
Foreign workers accounted for all net employment gains during the summer, adding 75,400 people to the workforce, whereas employment among Spanish nationals declined by 1,800. However, Spanish nationals accounted for 75 per cent of the rise in unemployment, adding 71,400 to the jobless count compared with an increase of 24,500 among foreign workers.
Public sector hiring proved vital in offsetting private sector losses. Public administration added 89,900 jobs over the quarter to reach a record 3.73 million employees. Conversely, the private sector shed 16,300 jobs, dropping to 19.11 million. Self-employed workers were also hit hard, with a quarterly loss of 15,500 independent workers bringing their total to 3.16 million - down 104,700 over the past year.
By sector, services accounted for all net job gains, adding 235,600 workers to reach 17.49 million. All other major sectors contracted: agriculture lost 58,300 jobs, manufacturing fell by 54,400, and construction dropped by 49,300. Women secured nearly seven out of every ten new jobs created during the quarter, bringing female employment to 10.66 million.
Public sector quality metrics and temporary contracts
Temporary contracts dominated seasonal hiring, accounting for 75.6 per cent of new salaried roles. The number of temporary employees rose by 68,000 to 3.02 million, while permanent positions grew by 22,100 to a record 16.6 million.
The Ministry of Economy highlighted that long-term structural trends remain positive, pointing to a 519,200 increase in permanent employees over the past year. The national temporary employment rate fell to 15.37 per cent overall and to 12.57 per cent within the private sector - down nearly 0.5 percentage points year-on-year.
Long-term unemployment also showed improvement, falling by 12,400 overall. The count of individuals seeking work for over a year dropped by 24,400 to 758,400, while those unemployed for two years or more decreased by 63,000.