Spain’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) reported on 27 October that unemployment rose by 95,900 in the third quarter, taking the total to 2,591,200. The rate climbed from 9.87% to 10.18%, while employment increased by 73,600, or 0.3%, to a record 22,852,600 people.
The labour force grew by 169,500 over the quarter to a record 25,443,800, information from the Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA) published by the INE. It includes people in work and those without work who are available and seeking a job. The activity rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 59.5%. Unemployment rose more than employment because the active population expanded faster than the number of jobs.
At 10.18%, the jobless rate was the lowest for a July-to-September quarter since 2007, though it rose from 9.87% in the previous quarter. The increase in unemployment was the largest for a third quarter since 2020; the employment gain was the weakest for that quarter since 2019.
Over the year, the number of unemployed fell by 21,900, while the labour force grew by 443,500. Employment reached a record 22.85 million, although its quarterly increase was the smallest in a third quarter since 2019. Coverage of the INE release attributed the quarterly employment increase exclusively to the foreign population.
The EPA measures participation in the labour market; a separate report on family carers’ health examined another work-related issue: the physical and mental effects of care work.
