Blow to employment: unemployment shoots up by more than 230,000 people and breaks the positive trend

Unemployment increased by 231,500 people between January and March, which represents an increase of 9.3% compared to the previous quarter, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). This is the largest rebound in a first quarter since 2013.

In parallel, employment decreased by 170,300 people (-0.7%), with a loss of employment especially concentrated in the private sector, where 191,400 jobs disappeared. This setback represents the worst figure for a first quarter since 2020, when the initial impact of the pandemic caused an even greater destruction of employment.

At the close of March, the total number of unemployed stood at 2.708.600 people, the highest figure since the first quarter of 2025. For its part, the total number of employed fell to 22.293.000 workers, moving away from the record of 22,46 million reached at the end of last year.

The unemployment rate rose nine tenths in the quarter, up to 10.83%, again exceeding the 10% barrier after having closed 2025 at 9.9%. Even so, the Government emphasizes that this figure continues to be the lowest in a first quarter since 2008, which points to a long-term structural improvement despite the specific deterioration.

Regarding employment quality, the number of salaried employees decreased by 102,900 people (-0.5%), with a more intense drop in temporary employment (-85,400) compared to the decrease of 17,600 workers with permanent contracts. The temporary employment rate stood at 14.77%, decreasing to 11.91% in the private sector.

Despite these negative data, el Ministerio de Economía, Comercio y Empresa highlights that, in seasonally adjusted terms, employment grew by 96.800 people in the quarter (+0.4%) and by more than 532.000 in the last year. Furthermore, the number of active people reached a record of 25 million, which reflects an increase in labor market participation, although with difficulties in absorbing all that new labor.