Spain Unemployment Rate Back Above 10%

2026-10-27 09:18 By Joana Taborda 1 min. read

Spain’s unemployment rate rose to 10.18% in Q3 2026, up from 9.87% in Q2 and above market expectations of 9.9%.

The number of unemployed people increased by 95,900, or 3.8%, from the previous quarter, marking the largest rise for a third quarter since Q3 2020.

Nevertheless, the unemployment rate was the lowest recorded for a third quarter since 2007.

The number of unemployed people reached 2.591 million.

Meanwhile, employment increased by 73,600, or 0.3%, marking the weakest gain for a third quarter since 2019.

Despite the modest growth, total employment reached a record high of 22.852 million.

The number of employed foreign nationals rose by 75,400, or 2%, while employment among Spanish nationals declined by 1,800.

By sector, public employment increased by 89,900, while private-sector employment fell by 16,300.

The labour force expanded by 169,500 to a record 25.443 million, pushing the participation rate up to 59.5%.



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Spain Unemployment Rate Back Above 10%
Spain’s unemployment rate rose to 10.18% in Q3 2026, up from 9.87% in Q2 and above market expectations of 9.9%. The number of unemployed people increased by 95,900, or 3.8%, from the previous quarter, marking the largest rise for a third quarter since Q3 2020. Nevertheless, the unemployment rate was the lowest recorded for a third quarter since 2007. The number of unemployed people reached 2.591 million. Meanwhile, employment increased by 73,600, or 0.3%, marking the weakest gain for a third quarter since 2019. Despite the modest growth, total employment reached a record high of 22.852 million. The number of employed foreign nationals rose by 75,400, or 2%, while employment among Spanish nationals declined by 1,800. By sector, public employment increased by 89,900, while private-sector employment fell by 16,300. The labour force expanded by 169,500 to a record 25.443 million, pushing the participation rate up to 59.5%.
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The unemployment rate in Spain fell to 9.87% in the second quarter of 2026, the lowest since the first quarter of 2008, compared to 10.83% in the previous period and forecasts of 10.7%. The number of unemployed persons declined by 213,300 to 2.495 million, with unemployment falling in all sectors: services (-170,300), agriculture (-22,400), industry (-10,900) and construction (-5,400). Unemployment fell by 57,700 among people who had been out of work for more than a year, while it increased by 53,400 among first-time job seekers. By gender, the number of unemployed men fell by 67,900 while the number of unemployed women declined by 145,400. The female unemployment rate dropped to 11.02%, while the male unemployment rate fell to 8.84%. Meanwhile, employment increased by 486,00 to 22.779 million, rising in services (+394,000), construction (+60,000) and industry (+38,200) while falling in agriculture (-6,200).
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