Málaga managed to create jobs in October but could not escape the rise in unemployment

In contrast to that increase of 445 contributors last month, in October 2025 there was a loss of more than 1,100; in October 2024, the loss was more than 1,600; and in the same month of 2023, the loss was more than 4,400.

In any case, Málaga is no exception in the figures published on Wednesday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration: employment growth was seen across more than forty provinces in the country. However, seasonal factors did have a significant impact on the Balearic Islands, for example, where the number of people registered for social security fell by 31,610. Meanwhile, in Girona, also a holiday destination, employment fell by nearly 5,900 people. Within Andalusia, Cádiz bore the brunt of the decline, losing 3,893 people registered for social security.

In relative terms, the 0.06 per cent rise in employment in Málaga – sufficient to avoid the fall in employment that the province nevertheless experienced in September (when it lost around 5,000 jobs) – falls short when compared with the growth recorded in Almería, which topped the national rankings, with the number of people registered with social security rising by 4.46 per cent – or by more than 15,000 – followed by Huelva, with an increase of 2.66 per cent – or just over 6,000 more jobs. Other Andalusian provinces also performed well, such as Córdoba, with growth of 1.9 per cent, and Seville (up 1.81 per cent).

Across Spain as a whole, Social Security enrolment rose by 0.83 per cent in October, representing an increase of 186,612 people in employment, bringing the total to over 22.62 million. The increase over the last twelve months stands at 3.59 per cent; in other words, at the end of October there were nearly 785,000 more contributors in the country than a year ago.

Málaga does indeed exceed the national average, given that employment growth over the last twelve months stood at 4.68 per cent, meaning there are 35,081 more people in work than in October last year. In fact, there are few regions in the country where employment growth, in percentage terms, is higher: only in Almería, Alicante, the Balearic Islands and Tarragona.

Although the province of Málaga has achieved what is usually very rare – a rise in employment in October – this has not prevented a rise in unemployment, which is more common at this time of year, when many employment contracts come to an end with the summer season. According to figures from the Ministry of Labour, registered unemployment rose by 1,062 people last month, reaching 99,214. This represents a relative increase in unemployment of 1.08 per cent, which is, however, lower than the figure recorded for Spain as a whole, where the number of unemployed rose by 1.81 per cent – or 43,128 people – to 2.422 million.

The fact is that over the last month, unemployment fell in only three regions of the country: just in Córdoba (-583), Seville (-405) and Ceuta (-151). It therefore rose in the remaining 49 provinces.

Compared with the same period last year, the number of people registered with SEPE offices fell by 11,137 in Málaga, or by just over 10 per cent – figures which, once again, show that the Costa del Sol province outperforms the figures for Spain as a whole, where the fall in unemployment has not even reached 1 per cent, translating into a reduction of just 21,133 unemployed people.

By sector, unemployment rose amongst those who had not previously been in employment (456 more than in September, bringing the total to 11,323), as well as in the services sector (809 more, bringing the total to 72,222) and in industry (28 more unemployed, rising to 4,339). However, it fell in agriculture (-51, down to 1,891) and in construction (-180, down to 9,439).