Spain drops below 10% unemployment for the first time since 2008 and reaches a new historical high in employment

The Spanish labor market has once again registered historical figures in the second quarter of 2026. The Active Population Survey (EPA) published this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) places the unemployment rate at 9.87%, which is the first time it has fallen below the 10% threshold since 2008. The indicator improves compared to the 10.83% registered between January and March, consolidating the positive evolution of employment.

Between April and June, the number of unemployed people decreased by 213,300, a drop of 7.87% compared to the previous quarter, while employment increased by 486,000 people, raising the total number of workers to 22,779,000, the highest figure in the historical series. At the end of the quarter, the number of unemployed stood at 2,495,300 people.

Labor activity also reached unprecedented levels. The active population grew by 272,700 people during the quarter and by 452,500 compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 25,274,300 active people, the highest historical record. As a result, the activity rate increased to 59.29%, four tenths above that of the previous quarter.

The data also reflect a growth in salaried employment, with 529,200 more workers, driven mainly by permanent contracts, which added 386,900 new salaried employees, compared to the 142,300 temporary contracts incorporated. In this way, the temporary employment rate remains at 15%, reducing to 12.3% in the private sector.

In year-on-year terms, employment maintains a growth rate of more than half a million jobs for the sixth consecutive quarter. In the seasonally adjusted series, considered by the Ministry of Economy as the one that best reflects the underlying trend, the number of employed people reaches a record of 22,669,300 people, after growing by 122,000during the second quarter.

The Government has highlighted that these results also translate to households. Families with all their active members in unemployment decreased by 86,500 during the quarter, to stand at 764,200, while households with all their members employed increased by 228,800, reaching a total of 12,273,700.

By sectors, employment continued to grow strongly in activities with higher added value. In the last year, the increases registered in health and social services (94,000 more employed people), education (76,600), professional, scientific and technical activities (70,500), financial and insurance activities (60,600) and artistic, recreational and entertainment activities (43,200) stand out.

After the EPA was released, the second vice-president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, assessed the data as a "good piece of news", despite the context marked by the emergency caused by the fires affecting different areas of Spain. The minister defended that the labor policies promoted by the Executive "work", although she advocated for continuing to strengthen protection mechanisms for workers.