The unemployment rate in September remained stable at 5.6% compared to the previous month, but represents a decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared to September 2025. These are preliminary figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
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Read today’s briefingThe government projects the national unemployment rate will reach 5.8% for 2026 and further decline to 5.7% in 2027. These figures are described as being consistent with forecasts from other institutions and reflecting a context of economic dynamism and full employment.
The government submitted the 2027 State Budget proposal to Parliament on Thursday, projecting unemployment rates of 5.8% for 2026 and 5.7% for 2027. These figures reflect an official outlook of economic dynamism and near full employment.
The national unemployment rate reached 5.5% between July and September 2026, an increase of 0.2 percentage points over the previous quarter. Youth unemployment (ages 16-24) rose to 19.9%, while the total number of unemployed people is estimated at 316,800.