Spain’s labor market in May moved forward again, continuing a recovery that has persisted through a year marked by global tensions and domestic pressures. As the Spanish economy prepared for a bustling tourist season, steady job creation and a shrinking unemployment pool painted a picture of resilience. Latest figures from the Ministries of Social Security and Labour show that May concluded with positive momentum, keeping the country on a path of gradual improvement in employment despite ongoing inflation and international uncertainties.
Even with inflation remaining stubbornly high and the war in Ukraine shaping broader economic expectations, employment data has not mirrored the darker forecasts from some international institutions and domestic authorities. Analysts had anticipated slower growth in GDP, but the labor market appears to be holding up. The question now is whether the current hiring pace can outpace or at least keep pace with any downturn in overall growth, a scenario the Spanish labour system has repeatedly navigated in recent decades with some success.
In May, the labor market closed with close to 100,000 fewer people registered with SEPE, reducing the total unemployed figure to about 2.92 million. While that number remains very high by European standards, it is notable for dipping below the symbolic three-million mark for the first time since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. To illustrate the scale, it’s a shift the country has not seen since the housing market meltdown and Lehman Brothers’ collapse, events that once pushed unemployment to peaks no one wished to repeat.
The path back to healthier employment has been long and uneven. The social and economic shockwaves from those years left a lasting imprint, but the recovery has gathered strength through a combination of business reopening, new hiring, and a steady influx of workers returning from inactivity or joining the workforce from abroad. Spain’s ability to attract and reintegrate workers who had left the labour market has proven more robust than the challenge of reabsorbing a large group who exited more than a decade ago and have not returned. The dynamics of job creation and participation have thus evolved, underscoring a renewal that leans on both domestic resilience and a more flexible, responsive private sector.
Despite the overall progress, a closer look reveals uneven improvements across demographic groups. While total unemployment has fallen, it remains clear that the gains are not distributed evenly. The decline in unemployment has been more pronounced among men in recent years, with rates approaching pre-crisis levels for men. Women, however, have not seen the same pace of recovery and continue to face persistently higher unemployment than men. This discrepancy highlights ongoing structural issues in the labor market, including participation rates, sectoral composition of employment, and the persistence of gender gaps in certain industries. Policymakers and employers alike are paying closer attention to these disparities as the economy aims for broad-based recovery and inclusive growth.