Spain jobless rate at 10.83%
- Spain’s National Statistics Institute said first-quarter unemployment rose to 10.83% on Tuesday, reversing the prior quarter’s drop and surprising economists who expected 9.8%. - The number of unemployed people increased by 231,500 to 2.71 million, while the seasonally adjusted number of employed people still reached a record 22.5 million. - Spain still posted its lowest first-quarter jobless rate since 2008, even as household incomes lag property wealth. (reuters.com)
Spain’s unemployment rate rose to 10.83% in the first quarter, Spain’s National Statistics Institute said Tuesday. (reuters.com) (ine.es) That was up from 9.93% in the fourth quarter of 2025, and above the 9.8% average forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. (reuters.com) (ine.es) The number of unemployed people rose by 231,500 in January through March to 2,708,600. Spain also lost 170,300 jobs in the quarter, according to the labour-force survey. (reuters.com) (surinenglish.com) Reuters reported the increase was driven by higher unemployment in services, after the Christmas tourism season ended. BBVA Research said services “decoupled from job creation” in the quarter. (reuters.com) (bbvaresearch.com) The setback came after Spain had pushed joblessness below 10% at the end of 2025 for the first time in years. Even with the rebound, the first-quarter rate was still the lowest for that period since 2008. (ine.es) (reuters.com) Spain’s labour market still showed underlying growth on a seasonally adjusted basis. Reuters said employment reached a seasonally adjusted record 22.5 million, up 532,300 from a year earlier. (reuters.com) BBVA Research estimated the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 10.2% and said demographic growth lifted the active population even as hours worked slowed. (bbvaresearch.com) That labour-market squeeze lands in a country where household wealth is tied heavily to property. Idealista, citing the Bank of Spain’s household finance survey, said median gross household income was €36,100, while median net wealth was €160,800 at the end of 2024. (idealista.com) The same survey showed owner-occupier households had median net wealth of €239,300, versus €6,400 for non-owners. That split helps explain why many families can look asset-rich while staying cautious on day-to-day spending. (idealista.com) For now, Spain has a labour market that is still stronger than a year ago but weaker than economists expected at the start of 2026. The next quarterly survey will show whether this was a seasonal reset or a broader slowdown. (reuters.com) (bbvaresearch.com)
