Spain’s labour market continued to strengthen in May, reaching a new employment record as the summer tourism season gathered pace, although the fall in unemployment showed signs of losing momentum.
According to figures published on Tuesday by the Ministries of Labour and of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, the number of people registered as unemployed fell by 36,323 compared with April, leaving a total of 2,320,721 jobseekers. That is the lowest figure recorded for the month of May since 2007.
Compared with a year earlier, unemployment declined by 134,162 people. The reduction was recorded across all major sectors of the economy, although the number of people seeking work for the first time rose slightly.
At the same time, Social Security membership climbed to an all-time high of 22,337,806 workers after gaining 231,975 contributors during the month, an increase of 1.05%. The result represents the second-strongest May performance on record and follows the unprecedented boost generated by the Easter holiday period, which pushed employment above 22 million for the first time.
Seasonally adjusted figures showed employment increasing by 63,737 people, extending Spain’s run of uninterrupted job growth to 64 consecutive months and bringing the adjusted total workforce to 22.1 million.
The hospitality industry once again led job creation as businesses prepared for the peak tourist season. The sector added more than 67,000 contributors during May, accounting for nearly three out of every ten new jobs created and bringing total employment in hospitality close to 1.68 million workers.
Administrative and support services also posted strong gains, adding around 27,000 workers and approaching 1.5 million employees. On a year-on-year basis, health and social care activities made the largest contribution to employment growth, with more than 77,000 additional workers.
The agricultural special regime recovered almost 21,000 contributors during the month, although membership remains lower than a year ago. By contrast, the domestic workers’ scheme continued to lose members both monthly and annually.
Self-employment also reached a record level, with 3.46 million people registered as self-employed. Over the past year, almost 46,000 new self-employed workers joined the system, particularly in professional, scientific and technical activities.
Employment records were also reached among several demographic groups, including women, young people, foreign workers and the self-employed.
The number of women registered with Social Security approached 10.6 million, representing almost 47.5% of all contributors. Meanwhile, female unemployment fell by 20,316 people to 1,404,110, the lowest level for a May since 2008.
Youth unemployment also reached a historic low. After 4,738 under-25s left the unemployment register during May, the total number of unemployed young people fell below 165,000 for the first time, reaching 164,955.
Foreign workers continued to play a major role in Spain’s employment growth. Non-Spanish nationals accounted for almost half of all new jobs created during the month, with 111,301 additional contributors taking the total to a record 3,359,548. Foreign workers now represent around 15% of all Social Security contributors. ALSO READ: Spain to link newly regularised migrants with jobs amid labour shortages.
The services sector was responsible for most of the reduction in unemployment, with 29,829 fewer jobseekers than in April. Unemployment also fell in industry (-2,665), construction (-2,304) and agriculture (-1,628).
All regions recorded declines in unemployment during May. Andalusia registered the largest reduction, with 9,125 fewer unemployed people, followed by Catalonia (-6,900) and Madrid (-3,834). In terms of employment growth, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands together generated almost 100,000 new jobs during the month. The Balearic Islands also recorded the strongest increase in Social Security registrations, gaining nearly 48,200 contributors.
Despite the positive figures, the pace of improvement in unemployment slowed noticeably. The fall of 36,323 people represented the smallest May decline since 2012, excluding the pandemic-affected year of 2020. In seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment actually rose by 9,755 people.
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Nuevo récord de empleo en España.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) June 2, 2026
22,3 millones de afiliados a la Seguridad Social y el paro en su nivel más bajo en un mes de mayo desde 2007.
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