Malaga province's labour market unable to absorb strong workforce growth despite its dynamism

The labour force in the province is growing so rapidly that the market, despite its dynamism, is unable to absorb it in its entirety.

Employment in the province increased by 28,400 people in the second quarter of the year, reaching 835,500, the highest figure on record. That represents quarter-on-quarter employment growth of 3.5%, well above the 2.2% increase across Spain, where employment rose by 486,000 people to 22.78 million.

Malaga recorded the seventh-largest increase in employment in Spain during the quarter in absolute terms (it ranks sixth by population), behind the Balearic Islands, Barcelona, Madrid, Cadiz, Girona and Alicante. Measured as a percentage, however, the province ranks lower. Employment grew by 8% in Cadiz and 6% in Huelva, with only the Balearic Islands (18%) and Girona (8.85%) posting stronger growth.

However, in absolute terms, the percentage figure represents an even greater number of jobs, given that, for example, in Andalusian provinces such as Cadiz and Huelva, employment growth for the quarter reached 8% and 6%, respectively, surpassed only by the Balearic Islands and Girona, with increases of 18% and 8.85%, respectively.

Compared with a year earlier, employment in Málaga rose by 43,700 people, or 5.5%, again outperforming the national increase of 2.3%. On this measure, Malaga ranks as Spain's fourth strongest province for job creation in absolute terms, behind Alicante, Madrid and Murcia.

In percentage terms it drops slightly in the rankings, with Gipuzkoa, for example, leading the country after recording 9.3% employment growth.

The province performed far less well when it came to unemployment.

The number of unemployed people in Malaga increased by 15,000 during the second quarter, reaching 131,200. That was the largest increase of any province in Spain, ahead of Granada (+11,900) and Seville (+10,600). Jaén also recorded a rise, with 9,500 more unemployed people than three months earlier.

Malaga has not recorded an increase in unemployment during a second quarter since 2012, when the number of unemployed rose by 5,000. By contrast, unemployment fell by 12,100 in the second quarter of 2025 and by 34,800 in the same period of 2024.

In percentage terms, unemployment in Malaga increased by almost 13%. Only a handful of provinces, including Segovia, Jaén, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Ávila, Granada and Huesca, recorded larger proportional increases.

Compared with a year ago, the number of unemployed people in the province rose by 11,400, an increase of 9.5%.

Nationally, the picture was very different. Unemployment fell by 213,300 during the quarter (-8.9%) and by 57,800 over the year (-2.25%).

As a result, Malaga's unemployment rate rose to 13.57% in the second quarter of 2026, up from 12.59% in the first quarter and 13.15% a year earlier.

Across Spain, the unemployment rate fell to 9.87%, down from 10.83% in the previous quarter and 10.29% a year earlier.

The gender gap also remains significant. The unemployment rate among women stands at 16.04%, compared with 11.3% for men.

The rapid growth of the labour force explains how unemployment can rise while employment continues to reach record highs.

During the second quarter, the province's labour force grew by 43,400 people, reaching 966,700, an increase of 4.7%. Compared with a year earlier, it expanded by 55,100 people, or 6%.

Both the quarterly and annual increases outpaced employment growth and far exceeded the growth in Spain's labour force as a whole, which ranged between 1% and 2% over the same periods.

Malaga recorded the third-largest increase in the labour force during the second quarter, behind only the Balearic Islands and Madrid. Over the past 12 months, it ranked first in Spain, adding 55,100 economically active people.

This reflects the province's strong population growth, which continues to attract people from elsewhere in Spain and abroad. However, as Manuel Méndez, dean of Malaga's association of economists, pointed out on Monday, this also places greater pressure on the local labour market, which must create jobs fast enough to absorb both new arrivals and existing unemployed residents.

Malaga also has one of the highest economic activity rates in Spain, that is, the proportion of the population either in work or actively looking for work. The rate reached 62.2%, up from 59.85% three months earlier. Only the Balearic Islands, Madrid, Girona, Albacete and Guadalajara recorded higher figures. Nationally, the rate remained below 60%.

Once again, however, there is a clear gender gap. The economic activity rate exceeds 67% among men but stands at 57.5% among women.

Meanwhile, Malaga slips down the rankings when measured by its employment rate: the proportion of the population actually in work. The province recorded a rate of 53.76%, well below the Balearic Islands, which lead the country with almost 63%, although still slightly above the Spanish average of 53.44%.

Here too, the gap between men and women remains wide: 48.3% of women are in employment, compared with almost 60% of men. specifically 3,600 year-on-year.

Although employment continues to grow, the pace of job creation slowed during the second quarter compared with previous years. Employment increased by almost 32,000 people between April and June 2025, by more than 50,000 during the same period in 2024, and by 32,700 in 2023.

The services sector accounted for most of the new jobs created in the second quarter, adding 20,500 jobs to reach 702,300 employees.

Construction followed with 7,500 additional jobs. Industry added 1,600 workers, bringing total employment in the sector to 43,500. Agriculture was the only sector to lose jobs, shedding 1,000, leaving 20,500 people employed.

Looking at the past 12 months, services again led employment growth, with 33,000 more workers than a year earlier. Construction added 12,500 jobs, while agriculture gained 1,900.

Industry was the only sector to record an annual decline, losing 3,600 workers.

The province's two main trade unions, CCOO and UGT, both commented on the figures.

Patricia Laguna, organisation and finance secretary at CCOO Malaga, said the debate should no longer focus solely on how many jobs the economy creates, but also on the quality of those jobs.

She pointed out that 84% of people in work are employed in the services sector, highlighting what she described as an economic model that relies too heavily on tourism, retail and hospitality: sectors that continue to generate high levels of temporary employment, involuntary part-time work and labour flexibility at the expense of workers' conditions.

She also highlighted the persistent gender inequalities in the labour market. "We cannot describe the labour market as truly healthy while women continue to have fewer opportunities to find work, poorer working conditions and lower economic activity rates."

Meanwhile, Antonio González, general secretary of UGT Malaga, highlighted the increase in unemployment both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, alongside the growth in the labour force and employment, and pointed to the differing performance of each sector of the economy.

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