Spain record employment by 2025: the 10% threshold finally falls

Spain’s employment story is always accompanied by footnotes. The same dataset which delivers the milestone also flags up familiar tensions. Youth unemployment is still high. There are large regional gaps. And a shift towards part-time employment in late-year.

The Year in Numbers in Plain English

The Labour Force Survey in Spain (EPA) for 2025 shows that employment is up by 605,400, while unemployment falls by 118.400. That pushed the unemployment rate to 9.93% at year-end — the lowest since early 2008.

The unemployment rate dropped by 136.100 in the last quarter, while employment increased by 76.200. The active population increased by 487.100 over the course of the year, so the gains in employment came even though more people were entering the labour market.

Where did the jobs come from

Services (+369)900, followed by Industry (+112200), Construction (+79.500), Agriculture (+43.800) and Agriculture (+43.800). Even though the services continue to dominate Spain’s labor engine, it’s a rise that is broad-based.

In Q4, however, the picture is slightly different: while industries lost jobs, services, agriculture and construction gained 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.

After reform, the trend towards permanent contracts continues

The “quality of jobs” is one of the most politically charged issues in Spain’s labor debate. The EPA figures show a continuing trend toward stability. Permanent employee numbers are expected to rise by 547.500 over the next decade, while temporary employment is only expected to increase by 22.400.

The analysis shows that Spain’s temporary hiring rate is down sharply from the period of the labour reform in 2021. It has narrowed a historic gap between the euro zone and Spain.

Part-time increases at the end the year: the fine print

Spain finished 2025 with record employment — but Q4 contains a wrinkle. Part-time jobs rose by 191,800 in the last quarter. Full-time fell by 115 600. 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.

The quarter saw a division of employment between the public and private sectors. Public employment grew by 108.700, while private employment declined by 32,500. Although the annual data still shows a high level of private sector job creation, it’s worth keeping an eye on how that composition changes by 2026.

You can improve, but not fix your young workers

The youth unemployment rate continues to decline. Both Spanish and international media have noted that it is now around 23 percent, which is a record low when compared to the crisis years. Even so, this is one of Spain’s most stubborn economic realities: the young are the first to be affected by tightening conditions, even though they benefit from growth.

Two labour markets in one country

The regional divisions in Spain are still stark. Cantabria had the lowest unemployment rate (6.77%) in Q4 according to the EPA, while Andalucia had the highest (14.66%). When the national rate finally drops below 10%, it becomes harder to dismiss the differences as “normal”.

What comes next depends on the growth mix of 2026

Even after the breakthrough, Spain’s unemployment rate is still among the highest in the EU. However, the Eurozone has a much lower average.

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.

Readers’ Quick Answers

Will Spain’s unemployment fall below 10% in 2020?

Yes — the EPA puts it at 9.93% By the end of 2025.

How many new jobs will be created by 2025?

605 400 more people had jobs than a previous year.

Does job security improve?

The number of permanent employees has increased dramatically over the past year, but temporary employment barely increased.

Sources:

INE, Eurostat