9CV9
📊 Research Report · 2026 Edition

Spain's Hiring &
Recruitment Landscape

100 Data-Backed Insights Into the Spanish Labour Market — Unemployment, Wages, Tech Talent, Remote Work & the Future of Hiring in España

Sources: INE · Eurostat · BBVA Research · LinkedIn · InfoJobs · Ministry of Labour
22.5M
Employed Workers (Q4 2025)
9.93%
Unemployment (Lowest Since 2008)
€1,221
New Minimum Wage / Month (2026)
+1.5M
New Jobs Forecast (2024–2026)
Employment & Labour Market Overview
2.3%
Projected employment growth in 2026
BBVA Research, Jan 2026
605,400
Jobs created in the past 12 months
INE (EPA), Q4 2025
+9.3%
SS membership growth since 2022 reform
vs Germany's 1.6% & France's 1.9%
2.9%
Spain GDP growth in 2025
BBVA Research estimate
53.09%
Employment rate (15–74 age group)
5th lowest in EU — significant room to grow
21.6%
Share of foreign-born workers (Q3 2025)
+51.7% since Q4 2019 — a structural shift
Unemployment Trends
Overall Rate (Q4 2025)
9.93%
Lowest level since 2008. Spain peaked at 26.1% in 2013 — a stunning 16-point improvement over 12 years driven by labour reform and structural job creation.
Youth Unemployment
26.6%
Under-25s still face 26.6% joblessness (Eurostat, July 2025) — highest in EU. Record low of 176,852 young unemployed reached in December 2025.
Youth Unemployment by Gender
Female Youth Unemployment27.6%
Male Youth Unemployment23.8%
EU Average (Under 25)14.8%
Contract Reform & Employment Stability
84.9%
Workers on permanent contracts (Q3 2025)
Up from ~70% before the 2022 reform
15.1%
Temporary employment rate (Q3 2025)
Down from 29.7% average (2014–2019)
–50%
Temporary contracts fallen since 2019
Source: BBVA Research / Fedea (2025)
×2.3
Permanent contracts vs 2019 levels
Permanent intermittent contracts ×8.4
28.0%
Temp rate in public sector (Q1 2025)
Reform has not penetrated govt hiring
3.4M
Workers changing jobs each quarter
Highest labour turnover rate in Europe
Wages & Compensation
Avg Gross Monthly Salary
€2,350
+4.2% vs 2025. Tech salaries growing 5–7%/yr. Wages projected to grow 3–4% annually through 2028.
Minimum Wage (SMI 2026)
€1,221
+61% since 2018. Directly benefits ~2.5M workers, of whom two-thirds are women.
Top Salaries by Role (Monthly Gross)
1
AI / ML Engineer
€5,000+
2
IT Director / CTO
€4,800
3
Finance / Investment
€3,800
4
Cloud Architect
€3,500
5
Healthcare Specialist
€3,200
→
National Average
€2,350
Gender in the Workplace
€5,156
Annual gender pay gap (2024)
Women need +23.2%/hr to close the gap
23 yrs
Time to close gap at current pace
Finance Ministry estimate, 2024 report
57%
Min-wage workers who are women
SMI increases disproportionately help women
⚖️ From mid-2026, larger Spanish companies must publish gender-related pay data across employment categories under the EU Pay Transparency Directive.
Tech Talent & Digital Skills Gap
1
AI Engineer
🔥 Critical
2
DevOps Engineer
🔥 Critical
3
Cybersecurity Specialist
⚡ High
4
Cloud Architect
⚡ High
5
Data Scientist / Analyst
⚡ High
6
Logistics Analyst
📈 Rising
Key Digital Metrics
Spaniards with basic digital skills66.2%
EU Average (digital skills)55.6%
AI / ML roles currently unfilled30%
EU firms unable to find developers57%
Talent shortage: 25,000–50,000 unfilled developer positions.
€12.25B Digital Spain 2026 investment driving demand.
Remote & Hybrid Work
19.8%
Employees teleworking regularly (Q1 2024)
INE data; avg 2.4 days/week
37.5%
Enterprises allowing telework (Q1 2024)
Updated legislation Nov 2025
22.7%
Telework penetration — Madrid (2023)
Highest of any region; Catalonia 14.9%
41.5%
Homes unsuitable for teleworking
Randstad research; structural barrier
53%
Workers citing commute savings as #1 WFH benefit
InfoJobs survey, 2024
#13
Spain's remote work rank among 20 largest EU nations
Eurostat 2024 comparison
International Talent & Immigration
🏆 #1 Digital Nomad Destination
Spain Leads Global
Ranked #1 in the 2025 Digital Nomad Report by Global Citizen Solutions — ahead of Malta, Portugal, Germany & Hungary. Beckham Law: 0% tax on foreign income + 24% flat rate on local earnings for up to 6 years.
€
Min. income for Digital Nomad Visa
€2,850/mo
%
Beckham Law flat tax on local income
24%
0
Tax on foreign income (Beckham Law)
6 years
51%
Growth in foreign workers since 2019
21.6% share
300K
International workers targeted annually
Gov. goal
Regional Salary Disparities
RegionAvg. Annual SalaryTelework %vs National Avg
Madrid€35,000+22.7%+48% above avg
Catalonia€33,50014.9%+41% above avg
Basque Country€32,00013.1%+35% above avg
Valencian Community€27,50013.8%+16% above avg
Andalusia / Málaga€26,0009.5%+10% above avg
Extremadura€25,526~7%+8% above avg
Región de Murcia€24,450~6%+3% above avg
Source: Spanish Government Regional Accounts (2024), INE, idealista (2024)
Candidate & Employer Sentiment 2026
67%
Workers feel unprepared for job search in 2026
LinkedIn analysis, Jan 2026
58%
Professionals say job search is harder than last year
TechMag / LinkedIn, 2026
87%
Expats in Spain report happiness with lifestyle
#2 in Global Quality of Life Index (2025)
Sources: INE (Spain) · Eurostat · BBVA Research · CaixaBank Research · LinkedIn Jobs · InfoJobs · Ministry of Labour · Adecco · Randstad · IMF · inedjobs.com · TechMag
Compiled by 9CV9 Research · Data as of Q1 2026 · For informational purposes only