Spain’s unemployment rate fell to 9.87% in the second quarter of 2026, its lowest level since the first quarter of 2008. This compares with 10.83% in the previous quarter and comes in below market expectations of 10.7%.
The number of unemployed people declined by 213,300, to 2.495 million, with joblessness decreasing across all sectors: services (-170,300), agriculture (-22,400), industry (-10,900), and construction (-5,400). Long-term unemployment (people out of work for more than a year) dropped by 57,700, while unemployment among first-time job seekers increased by 53,400.
By gender, the number of unemployed men fell by 67,900 and the number of unemployed women decreased by 145,400. The female unemployment rate declined to 11.02%, while the male rate fell to 8.84%.
Meanwhile, employment increased by 486,000 to 22.779 million. Job gains were recorded in services (+394,000), construction (+60,000), and industry (+38,200), while employment in agriculture decreased by 6,200.
