Spain | LFS 1Q26: Employment surprised to the downside and unemployment rate stabilized

Summary

Employment grew by 0.4% quarterly SA (2.4% YoY), four tenths less than in the fourth quarter of 2025. Hours worked also slowed down, while the active population rebounded and the unemployment rate stagnated at 10.2% SA.

Key points

• Key points:
• Job creation and the increase in hours worked moderated, pressured by the fall in the intensive margin.
• Services decoupled from job creation.
• The creation of salaried employment offset the reduction in the number of self-employed workers.
• Stagnation of the unemployment rate in a context of demographic growth.
• Canary Islands and Aragon led job creation in the first quarter.

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