What's behind the record low number of unemployed young people in Spain?

BarcelonaThis has been the most significant finding in the balance sheet. registered unemployment in Spain during 2025The number of unemployed people under 25 fell in December to 176,852, the lowest figure on record. The overall positive performance of the labor market, especially since the end of the pandemic, has also helped to alleviate one of the labor-related grievances the country has faced since the Great Recession.

In 2013, the youth unemployment rate reached a record 55.5% in Spain – 50.2% in Catalonia. Since then, this figure has been reduced by more than half. In the latest edition of the Labour Force Survey (EPA) conducted by the National Statistics Institute (INE), for the third quarter of 2015, it stood at 25.4%. Even so, this level still leaves Spain as the country with the highest youth unemployment in the European Union, where the average is 14.8%. Paradoxically, the countries closest to the Spanish figure are Sweden (24.2%) and Finland (22%), two Scandinavian economies with a strong welfare state model in which unemployment has increased in recent years.

The fact that there are fewer unemployed young people is good news, but what else does this figure explain? While it's true that the Spanish young working-age population—those who are employed or actively seeking work—has rebounded in recent years due to the post-pandemic recovery and record employment levels, it's important to note that this group is now 22% smaller than in 2008. This is significant because the unemployment rate is calculated based on the working-age population, and therefore, any such figure can vary. Added to this is the demographic factor: although the Spanish population aged 16 to 24 has increased by 3.6% since the beginning of the crisis, it has decreased by 19.1% over the last 30 years. Those born in 2008—who are now 17 and have barely reached legal working age—are the largest cohort, but previous generations are not as numerous, and the decline in the birth rate is already noticeable again in the next generations entering the labor market.

To complete the picture, one key indicator is missing, one that not only explains which young people are excluded from the labor market, but above all, why. The inactive population under 25—those who are neither working nor looking for work—is at its highest level in the last 23 years in Spain. In the third quarter of 2025, this group totaled 2.8 million people. This increase in the inactive population among young people is not necessarily due to discouragement about finding work, but also indicates changing trends in this stage of life, such as longer periods of study and a later entry into the labor market.

Extending the student period

"In the transition from the education system, they encounter two difficulties: firstly, a lack of experience; but also, if their economic situation allows, young people try to wait to find their first job offer that meets their expectations. If you add to this the fact that they are offered minimum wage, it takes them a long time to find a job in their field of study," Raúl Ramos points out.

Just look at the early school leaving rate for people aged 18 to 24, published by the INE (National Institute of Statistics): since 2010, it has been reduced by almost half, from 33.6% to 15.8% for men and from 22.6% to 10% for women. "These ages are no longer the same," says Jordi Garcia, professor of labor law at the University of Barcelona. The proportion of young people in the total Spanish workforce has also not recovered to pre-crisis levels and now stands at around 6.6%. However, the academic also believes that the decrease in youth unemployment is influenced by the fact that public employment services are "disconnected from reality and businesses" and that this group does not see them as an effective way to find work. Meanwhile, the number of those under 25 who are neither working nor looking for work and are not studying has increased slightly by 1.6% since 2014, according to the EPA (Spanish Labor Force Survey). Young people are still one of the social groups with the most difficulty accessing the labor market, and when they do manage to enter, they do so with worse wages. As a result of the changes introduced in the latest labor reform, those who already have a permanent contract (51.3%) outnumber those who still have One is temporary (48.6%), which implies greater job stability. However, Ramos points out that there is no evidence that this has reduced contract turnover and warns that, among younger workers, low severance packages make it easier for companies to dismiss long-term employees with little seniority.