Lorraine Williamson
Spain’s record employment 2025 is now the headline figure that matters: a country long defined by stubborn joblessness has ended the year with 22.46 million people in work and an unemployment rate below 10%. For the first time since 2008, the psychological barrier has cracked — and the numbers suggest the shift is more than cosmetic.
But Spain’s labour story always comes with footnotes. The same dataset that delivers the milestone also flags familiar tensions: youth unemployment is still high, big regional gaps, and a late-year tilt towards part-time work.
The year in numbers, in plain English
Across 2025, Spain’s Labour Force Survey (EPA) shows unemployment fell by 118,400 people to 2.48 million, while employment rose by 605,400 year-on-year. That pushed the unemployment rate to 9.93% at year-end — the lowest since early 2008.
In the final quarter alone, unemployment dropped by 136,100 and employment increased by 76,200. At the same time, the active population grew over the year by 487,100, meaning the job gains arrived even as more people entered the labour market.
Where the jobs came from
Over the year, the strongest employment growth came from services (+369,900), followed by industry (+112,200), construction (+79,500), and agriculture (+43,800). It’s a broadly-based rise, even if services still dominate Spain’s labour engine.
Zoom in on Q4 and the picture shifts slightly: services, agriculture, and construction added jobs, while industry shed positions. That matters because Spain’s long-term challenge is not just creating jobs — it is building more resilient, higher-productivity work beyond tourism-heavy cycles.
Permanent contracts: the post-reform trend holds
One of the more politically charged claims in Spain’s labour debate is “job quality”. The EPA figures back a continued tilt towards stability: over 2025, permanent employee numbers rose by 547,500, compared with a much smaller increase in temporary employment (+22,400).
That direction aligns with analysis that Spain’s temporary hiring rate has fallen sharply since the 2021 labour reform period, narrowing a historic gap with the euro area.
The fine print: part-time rises at the end of the year
Spain finished 2025 with record employment — but Q4 contains a wrinkle. Full-time employment fell by 115,600 in the quarter, while part-time rose by 191,800. Employee numbers still increased overall, with permanent contracts up and temporary contracts down in Q4 — yet the quarterly move towards part-time is exactly the sort of detail critics use to question “quality” headlines.
There was also a split between sectors in the quarter: private employment fell by 32,500, while public employment rose by 108,700. Annual figures still show strong private-sector job creation, but the end-of-year composition is worth watching into 2026.
Young workers: improving, not fixed
Youth unemployment continues to edge down, and Spanish and international coverage of the release notes it sitting around 23%, a low compared with the crisis years. Still, it remains one of Spain’s most stubborn economic facts: young people benefit from growth, then suffer first when conditions tighten.
A country of two labour markets
Spain’s regional divide remains stark. The EPA release puts Cantabria as the lowest unemployment rate in Q4 (6.77%), while Andalucia recorded the highest (14.66%). The gap is not new, but when the national rate finally slips under 10%, the differences become harder to dismiss as “normal”.
What happens next depends on 2026’s growth mix
Spain still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the EU, even after this breakthrough, with the euro area sitting far lower overall.
The question for 2026 is whether Spain can keep adding jobs while shifting towards higher-value sectors — and whether housing costs, mobility constraints, and skills mismatches continue to trap workers in the wrong place, or outside the market entirely.
Spain growth forecast 2026
Quick answers for readers
Did Spain’s unemployment rate fall below 10% in 2025?
How many jobs were created in 2025?
Is job stability improving?
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