The number of people registered as unemployed in the offices of public employment services decreased in March by 22,934 compared to February (-0.9%), practically double that of the same month in 2025. The reduction is explained, above all, by the behavior of the services sector, which concentrated the greater part of the decrease in unemployment, according to data released this Monday by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy.
After this decrease in the third month of the year, the total number of unemployed stood at 2,419,712, the lowest record for a month of March in the last 18 years, as highlighted by the department led by Labor.
The fall in unemployment in March of this year surpasses that of March 2025 (-13,311 people), although it remains below the decreases recorded in March 2024 (-33,405) and 2023 (-48,755).
Since the comparable historical series exists, started in 1996, unemployment has decreased in March on 26 occasions and has only increased in five. The largest increase was recorded in 2020, coinciding with the outbreak of the pandemic, with 302,000 more unemployed, while the largest cut occurred in 2002, when unemployment was reduced by 66,800 people.
In seasonally adjusted terms, registered unemployment fell in March 2026 by 15,534 people.
In the last twelve months, unemployment has accumulated a decrease of 160,426 people, 6.2% less, with a reduction in female unemployment of 95,206 women (-6.1%) and a drop in male unemployment of 65,220 men (-6.3%).
SERVICES, WOMEN AND OVER 25 CONCENTRATE THE DECREASE OF UNEMPLOYMENT
By branches of activity, the largest drop in unemployment was registered in services, with 18,852 fewer unemployed than in February (-1%). Next was construction, which reduced its lists by 5,846 people (-3.4%), and industry, with 1,482 fewer unemployed (-0.8%).
Conversely, unemployment rose in agriculture, with 365 more unemployed (+0.5%), and in the group without previous employment, mostly made up of young people looking for their first job, where it increased by 2,881 people (+1.3%).
Unemployment fell in March among both men and women, although with greater intensity among the latter. Female unemployment decreased by 14,841 women compared to February (-1%), compared to a decrease in male unemployment of 8,093 men (-0.8%).
At the close of March 2026, the total number of unemployed women stood at 1,458,572, the lowest level in a month of March in 18 years, while the number of unemployed men reached 961,140.
By age groups, unemployment among those under 25 years old decreased by 0.2% in March, with 431 fewer unemployed young people than the previous month. Among people aged 25 and over, unemployment decreased by 22,503 unemployed people (-1%).
After this slight decrease, the total number of unemployed under 25 years old stood at 188,977, a historic low for a month of March.
UNEMPLOYMENT DECREASES IN 14 AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES
Registered unemployment decreased in March in 14 autonomous communities and increased in three: Canary Islands (+843 unemployed), Madrid (+342) and Basque Country (+179). Among the decreases, those of Andalusia (-8,836 unemployed), Catalonia (-3,777) and Valencian Community (-2,467) stood out.
By provinces, unemployment fell in 42, led by Cádiz (-2,352 unemployed), Seville (-1,939) and Málaga (-1,863). In contrast, it increased in 10 provinces, with the largest increases in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+514 unemployed), Madrid (+342) and Las Palmas (+329).
As for the foreign population, registered unemployment decreased by 392 people compared to February (-0.1%), reaching 348,167 unemployed, which is 14,219 fewer than a year earlier (-3.9%).
THE 44% OF THE CONTRACTS, PERMANENT
During the month of March, 1,311,070 contracts were signed, which represents almost 12.4% more than in the same month of 2025.
Of that total, 576,532 were permanent contracts, 13.3% more than a year earlier. Thus, 43.97% of the contracts signed in March were permanent, a slightly lower percentage than in February, when permanent contracts represented 44.1%.
Within the indefinite modality, in March 251,990 full-time contracts were formalized, 6.4% more than in the same month of the previous year; 177,337 permanent-intermittent contracts (+23% year-on-year) and 147,205 indefinite part-time contracts (+15.4%).
Regarding temporary hiring, in March 734,538 contracts of this type were signed, 11.6% more than in March 2025, which represents 56% of all contracts registered in the third month of 2026.
In the accumulated total of the first three months of the year, almost 3.6 million contracts have been signed, 3.3% more than in the same period of 2025. Of these, 1.5 million have been permanent (+3.7%) and 2.03 million, temporary (+2.9%).
THE COVERAGE RATE AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT, AT 80.7%
The Ministry also detailed that spending on unemployment benefits reached 2,255.5 million euros in February 2026 (latest available data), 3.2% more than in February 2025.
The average monthly expenditure per beneficiary, not including the agricultural subsidy of Andalusia and Extremadura, stood at 1,610.2 euros in February, which implies an increase of 23.9%.
The average gross amount of the contributory benefit received per beneficiary was 1,035.7 euros in February, 21.2 euros more than a year earlier (+2.1%).
The total number of unemployment benefit recipients stood in the second month of the year at 1,842,216 people, 2.5% less than in February 2025.
The unemployment coverage rate, which a year earlier stood at 77.8%, reached 80.7% in February, the highest value for this month in the entire historical series.
Benefit statistics are always published with a one-month delay regarding unemployment figures, so that this Monday the Ministry has released the unemployment data for March along with the benefit information corresponding to February.