Spain’s unemployment rate dipped below 10% at the end of 2025, the lowest level in almost 18 years.
Joblessness was 9.93% in the three months through December, the statistics office said Tuesday, adding that almost 22.5 million people are now employed in Spain.
In the past 45 years, there have only been four years during which the unemployment rate has fallen below 10%, according to data from the national statistical office.
Spain’s economy has outperformed its euro-area peers in recent years as politicians embraced immigration to boost growth. In a further push Tuesday, the government is set to grant resident permits to about 500,000 undocumented migrants.
The measure is expected to offer legal status to people who were in the country before Dec. 31, have no criminal record and can prove at least five months of uninterrupted residence.
This week’s positive jobs data underscore the resilience of the euro zone’s fourth-biggest economy and may also shift some attention away from recent fatal train accidents that have put pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
One dead and five seriously injured in another railway disaster in Spain
He’s also struggling to push through his legislative agenda. Spain hasn’t passed a budget since 2023 and the premier needs the backing of at least eight political parties to get anything through parliament.