The recorded fall in unemployment is the worst figure for a month of May since 2020, when unemployment rose by 26,573 during the height of the Covid crisis. Excluding that year, this May has seen the smallest fall in unemployment for this month since 2012, when it fell by 30,113 people.
Reported by Consejeros Editorial Team
Registered unemployment at public employment services offices fell by 36,323 people in May compared with the previous month (down 1.5%), due primarily to the services sector, which accounted for more than three-quarters of the fall in unemployment, according to data published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy.
Following the May decline, the total number of unemployed stood at 2,320,721 people, the lowest level for this month since 2007, the Ministry emphasised.
The fall in registered unemployment last month is the worst figure for a month of May since 2020, when unemployment rose by 26,573 people at the height of the Covid crisis. Excluding that year, this May saw the smallest fall in unemployment for this month since 2012, when it fell by 30,113 people.
Since the start of the comparable historical series in 1996, unemployment has fallen in May on 29 occasions and risen on two.
In seasonally adjusted terms, registered unemployment rose in May. It rose by 9,755 people compared with the previous month.
Over the last year, unemployment has fallen by a total of 134,162 people, representing a 5.5% decrease, with female unemployment falling by 82,311 women (down 5.5%) and male unemployment falling by 51,851 men (down 5.3%).
Services drive the fall in unemployment
By sector, registered unemployment fell most notably inservices, with 29,829 fewer unemployed (down 1.7%), followed by industry (2,665 unemployed, (down 1.4%); construction, which saw a reduction of 2,304 unemployed (down 1.4%), and agriculture, where the figure fell by 1,628 people (down 2.2%).
Record low in youth unemployment
By age group, unemployment among those aged 25 and over fell by 31,585 in May (down 1.4%), whilst that of young people under 25 fell by 4,738 (down 2.8%).
Consequently, the total number of unemployed people under 25 fell below the 165,000 mark for the first time, reaching a record low of 164,955 unemployed.
Unemployment falls across all autonomous communities
Registered unemployment fell in May in all autonomous communities compared to the previous month, particularly in Andalusia (down 9,125 unemployed), Catalonia (down 6,900 unemployed) and Madrid (down 3,834 people).
43.2% of contracts were permanent
In May this year, 1,323,719 contracts were registered, 0.4% fewer than in the same month of 2025. Of these, 572,061 were permanent contracts, 3.5% more than in May 2025.
In total, 43.2% of all contracts signed in May were permanent, a figure 1.6 percentage points higher than in the same month last year and similar to that recorded in April this year.
Among the permanent contracts, 234,774 full-time contracts were signed in May, 5% more than in the same month of the previous year; 135,409 part-time contracts (up 9.1%) and 201,878 seasonal permanent contracts (down 1.5%).
Of all contracts signed in May, 751,658 were temporary contracts, 3.2% fewer than in the same month of 2025. In total, these contracts accounted for 56.8% of all recruitment in the fifth month of the 2026 financial year.
