Spain ended 2023 with an unemployment rate of 11.76 percent, the lowest quarterly figure since 2007, marking a historic turn for the labor market. Data from the active population survey (EPA) released by INE show that the year delivered strong job creation, with employment climbing above 21 million people for the first time in the country’s modern records. The surge in hiring was largely driven by stable, full-time work, rather than the temporary jobs seen during the previous real estate surge.
Yet the broad picture hides persistent fragilities. While unemployment declined, Spain still records one of the highest rates in the European Union. In 2023, the number of households with all members unemployed decreased, but nationwide the total remained high at around 115,100 households.
Job growth was substantial, and in the private sector, the year 2023 — the second year under the new labor reform — closed with a provisional rate of 13.2 percent, the lowest in history. Before the bubble burst, the share of temporary contracts stood at 32 percent, meaning roughly one in three workers faced uncertainty about job continuity.
For younger workers, though, the path to stability remains challenging. Approximately four in ten workers under 25 held temporary contracts. The rate has eased over the last two years but remains elevated, signaling ongoing volatility for young entrants to the labor market.
Migrants and women face the toughest odds
In 2023, women and people born abroad spearheaded the improvement in employment, yet the end of the year showed signs of fatigue in the momentum and suggested that 2024 could see a slower pace of job creation. These two groups illustrate the dual dynamic at the heart of the Spanish labor market: strong gains in certain sectors alongside structural vulnerabilities in others. Notably, women accounted for more than half of the 783,000 new jobs created in the year.
Regarding national origin, the demand for workers has leaned heavily on the foreign-born population. The share of employed people born outside Spain rose to four times the national average, underscoring the reliance on international labor to fill vacancies across the economy.