Unemployment rises by 3,584 people in February, reaching a total of 2,442,646, the lowest level for this month since 2008

The number of people registered in the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) at the end of February rose by 3,584 people compared to January (0.15%). This brings the total number of registered unemployed to 2,442,646, the lowest level for this month since February 2008.

With respect to February 2025, unemployment fell by 150,803 people (-5.81%).

In seasonally adjusted terms, registered unemployment fell by 3,718 people.

Unemployment by sector

By economic sector, compared to January, registered unemployment decreased in the Construction sector by 2,140 people (-1.23%), in Industry by 1,122 people (-0.59%), and in Agriculture by 575 people (-0.77%).

It increased in the Services sector by 1,158 people (0.06%) and, especially, among those with no previous employment, by 6,263 people (2.85%).

Unemployment by sex and age

Female unemployment increased by 4,130 (0.28%) compared to January, reaching 1,473,413, its lowest level for this month since 2008.

Male unemployment, on the other hand, stood at 969,233 with unemployment falling by 546 (-0.06%).

Compared to February 2025, male unemployment fell by 61,262 (-5.94%) and female unemployment by 89,541 (-4.73%).

Youth unemployment affecting the under 25s rose in January by 8,516 people (4.71%) compared with the previous month. The total number of unemployed young people stands at 189,408, the lowest number recorded for a February in the historical series.

Unemployment by autonomous community

Registered unemployment fell in six Autonomous Communities, with the largest absolute decreases occurring in Andalusia (-2,629 people), the Basque Country (-1,146 people), and the Valencian Community (-1,102 people).

The number of unemployed workers increased in the remaining 11 regions, led by the Community of Madrid (3,694 people), Catalonia (2,039 people), and Castilla-La Mancha (1,070 people).

New contracts

The total number of contracts registered in February was 1,118,996. Of these, 494,001 were permanent, representing 44.15% of all contracts.

Unemployment benefits in January

The number of beneficiaries at the end of January was 1,871,811.

The system's coverage reached 81.86%, the highest in the historical series for that month.

The total investment in benefits in January amounted to €2.268 billion.

The average monthly investment per beneficiary, excluding the agricultural subsidy of Andalusia and Extremadura, in January was 1,574.70 euros, which represents an increase of 321.30 euros (25.6%) over the same month of the previous year.

Non official translation