Spain jobless rate falls below 10% for first time since 2008

Spain's unemployment rate fell below 10% for the first time since 2008 in the fourth quarter of 2025, as more government jobs offset a decline in the private sector, data from the National Statistics Institute showed on Tuesday.

The unemployment rate dropped to 9.9% in the last three months of 2025, down from 10.5% in the third quarter and below the FXStreet-cited market consensus for the jobless rate to worsen slightly to 10.6%.

Unemployment fell by 136,100 in the quarter to 2.5 million people. Compared with a year earlier, the number of unemployed was down by 118,400, a fall of 4.6%.

According to INE's economically active population survey, employment increased by 76,200 people in the fourth quarter from the third, taking the total number of people in work in Spain to 22.5 million.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, employment rose 0.9% quarter-on-quarter.

Over the past 12 months, employment in Spain grew by 605,400 people, a rise of 2.8%.

By gender, employment rose by 20,400 among men and by 55,800 among women in the fourth quarter. Over the year, employment gains were more balanced, with increases of 299,200 men and 306,200 women.

Services led job creation in the quarter, with employment rising by 78,300, followed by agriculture, up 33,400, and construction, up 2,300. Employment in industry fell by 37,800.

Full-time employment declined by 115,600 in the quarter, while part-time employment rose by 191,800.

Public sector employment increased by 108,700 in the quarter, while private sector employment fell by 32,500.