Spain sheds almost 163,000 jobs in August as unemployment climbs

August once again brought negative figures for employment in Spain. Spain's Social Security system lost 162,840 contributors, while unemployment increased by 44,419 people, in a month traditionally marked by the end of the tourist season and a fall in hiring for sectors such as education. Despite the drop, the loss of contributors is the smallest recorded in an August since the Covid-19 pandemic. On a year-on-year basis, the Spanish labour market has created around 680,000 jobs. At the end of the second quarter of 2026, the unemployment rate in Spain fell to 9.87%, the lowest since the first quarter of 2008, compared to 10.83% in the previous period and forecasts of 10.7%. In 2026, the figures are also influenced by the process of regularising foreign workers. By the end of August, the Social Security system counted 337,917 contributors incorporated through this process, which has helped cushion the seasonal fall in those paying into the system. In total, foreign workers already exceed 3.5 million contributors and represent 15.9% of the total labour force. These figures have led Spain's Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, to describe the evolution of the labour market as "historic job growth".

Education accounts for the biggest job losses

Education is once again the sector hardest hit by the seasonal drop in registrations. More than 78,000 teachers and other education professionals have ceased to be affiliated, coinciding with the holiday period and the interruption of numerous contracts during the summer. The end of the peak tourist season has also contributed to the drop in registrations and the rise in unemployment. "As it happens every summer, when the holidays end, unemployment rises because of seasonal work", explained Spain's Second Deputy Prime Minister and Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz. The increase in unemployment is higher than that seen in recent years for this month. The figures, however, are again partly shaped by the regularisation of foreign workers, as some of those benefiting from the process have registered as jobseekers. The total number of unemployed people stands at 2,356,000 which is the lowest level recorded in an August since 2007.