Spain’s unemployed up by 38,725 in January, reaching 2.6 million

unemployment office

Bankinter | The number of unemployed rose in January by 38,725 people compared to 55,000 expected and after a decrease of 25,300 in December. The number of unemployed stands at 2.6 million (up 1.5% month-on-month and down 6.1% year-on-year). Seasonally adjusted Social Security affiliates increased to 21.399 million people (35,800 more workers, up 0.17% month-on-month and 2.4% year-on-year). In non-adjusted monthly terms, the number of affiliates fell to 21.09 million (down 242,000 month-on-month versus a drop of 231,000 in January 2024).

Opinion from Bankinter’s analysis team: The number of unemployed increased in January, slightly less than expected and below the average of recent years (65,000 up in January over the last 10 years). January is seasonally a month of rising unemployment due to the end of the holiday period. The number of Social Security affiliates has remained above 21 million since March last year. The implied unemployment rate slightly decreased to 10.8% (versus 10.61% from the EPA for Q4 2024).


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