Unemployment rose by 23,587 people in September, reaching a total of 2,379,505, the lowest figure for this month since 2007

The number of unemployed people registered with the Public State Employment Service (SEPE) offices at the end of September rose by 23,587 compared to August (1%).

This increase falls within the average range observed for September in the historical series.

Consequently, registered unemployment stood at 2,379,505, the lowest figure for a month of September since 2007.

Of this total, at the end of September, 56,476 registered unemployed individuals had signed up following the extraordinary regularisation process, with 52% having been registered with the SEPE for less than a month.

In year-on-year terms, unemployment fell by 42,160 people (-1.74%).

Unemployment by economic sector

By economic sector, registered unemployment in Construction fell by 1,726 people (-1.04%) compared to August, while it remained virtually unchanged in Industry, with an increase of 39 unemployed individuals (0.02%). Unemployment rose in the Services sector by 6,707 people (0.40%) and in Agriculture by 601 people (0.87%).

The increase was most pronounced among the group with no previous employment, which saw an additional 17,966 unemployed individuals (7.39%).

Unemployment by sex and age

Female unemployment rose by 9,648 women (0.68%) compared with August. The total number of unemployed women stands at 1,428,405. This is its lowest level since September 2008.

Male unemployment stood at 951,100, an increase of 13,939 people (1.49%).

Compared to September 2025, female unemployment fell by 40,499 women (-2.76%) and male unemployment dropped by 1,661 men (-0.17%).

Meanwhile, unemployment among young people under the age of 25 rose by 21,411 people (12.77%) in September compared to the previous month.

Unemployment by autonomous community

In 2026, unemployment has fallen in two autonomous communities; the decreases in absolute figures occurred in the Canary Islands (-4,156) and La Rioja (-135). Conversely, it has risen in the remaining 15 communities, led by Andalusia (6,733), the Community of Madrid (2,773) and Galicia (2,746).

Registered contracts

The total number of contracts registered during September was 1,597,612. Of this total, 706,948 were permanent employment contracts, representing 44.25% of all contracts.

Unemployment benefits in August

There were 1,896,142 benefit recipients at the end of August.

The average monthly expenditure per beneficiary - excluding the agricultural subsidy for Andalusia and Extremadura - was €1,203.10 in August 2026. This represents an increase of €31.6 (2.7%) compared to the same month of the previous year.

Unemployment protection coverage in August 2026 stood at 87.12%, the highest level in the historical series, excluding the pandemic period.

Total investment in benefits for August 2026 amounted to €2.24 billion.

Non official translation