Spain’s registered unemployment increased by 43,128 in October 2026 from the previous month, reaching 2.42 million. Despite the rise—and the fact that analysts had forecast a much smaller increase of 18,700—this is still the lowest October reading since 2007.
Joblessness rose in almost all sectors. Services posted the largest increase (+26,853), followed by industry (+1,911) and agriculture (+1,547). Construction was broadly unchanged (+102), while unemployment among first-time jobseekers grew by 12,715.
Youth unemployment also deteriorated: among people under 25, the number of unemployed rose by 15,832, or 8.37% compared with September, bringing the total to 204,973.
The number of unemployed increased across all 17 autonomous communities, with the largest rises recorded in Catalonia (+8,174), the Valencian Community (+6,716) and Castile and León (+4,404).
