- Unemployment fell in the Community of Madrid by almost 9,000 people in the last year, despite the seasonal upturn in January
The Community of Madrid has 278,589 people unemployed in January, a figure that, despite the usual seasonal increase after the Christmas campaign, is almost 9,000 people below the one recorded a year ago, which means a year-on-year decrease of 3.12%.
The number of unemployed registered in the offices of the public employment services (formerly Inem) in the Community of Madrid rose 1.33% in January with 3,659 more unemployed in relation to the month of December, reaching the global figure of 278,589 unemployed people in the region.
This total number of unemployed is the lowest figure in a month of January since 2008. Since the beginning of the comparable historical series, in 1996, unemployment has risen in January most of the time (28 times) while it has fallen only once.
According to data published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, in the last year, with respect to January 2025, 8,981 fewer unemployed have been registered in the region of Madrid, which means a year-on-year decrease of 3.12%.
Nationally, unemployment in the offices of the public employment services rose by 30,392 people in January compared to the previous month (+1.2%) due to the services sector, which concentrated almost all the increase in unemployment this month due to the end of the Christmas campaign.
The increase in unemployment in January of this year is lower than the increases recorded in the months of January 2025 (+38,725 unemployed), 2024 (+60,404 unemployed) and 2023 (+70,744 unemployed), but it is worse than that experienced in January 2022, when it fell by 17,173 people.
Since the beginning of the comparable historical series in 1996, unemployment has always risen in the months of January. The biggest upturn this month occurred in 2009, with almost 199,000 more unemployed, and the lowest was recorded in 1998, with an increase of 10,285 unemployed. In seasonally adjusted terms, the registered unemployment fell in the first month of 2026 by 25,402 people.
UNEMPLOYMENT IS ONLY LOW IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS
The registered unemployment decreased in January only in an autonomous community, the Balearic Islands, which left 1,260 unemployed in the month. In contrast, it rose in the other 16 regions, mainly in Andalusia (+8,046 unemployed), Community of Madrid (+3,659) and Galicia (+3,113).
As for the provinces, unemployment fell in January in three of them: Balearic Islands (-1,260 unemployed), Guipuzcoa (-19) and Melilla (-10). On the contrary, unemployment increased in the other provinces, highlighting the increases in Madrid (+3,659 unemployed), Seville (+2,380) and Asturias (+1,646 unemployed).
For its part, unemployment among foreigners rose by 6,912 unemployed compared to the previous month (+2%), bringing the total number of immigrants unemployed to 343,693, which means 16,810 unemployed less than a year earlier (-4.6%).
FACTS OF MADRID
Of the total number of unemployed in the Community of Madrid in the first month of the year, which totals 278,589 people unemployed, 113,060 are men, which means an increase of 887 unemployed compared to the previous month, and 165,529 are women, 2,772 more.
In January, unemployment among young people under 25 increased, with 511 unemployed more than at the end of last month, to 18,567 unemployed, of whom 10,085 are men and 8,482 are women, while the group over 25 reached 260,022 unemployed, an increase of 3,148 people.
By sector, the one that includes the highest number of unemployed in the region of Madrid is that of Services, with 225,625, 3,948 more unemployed than in December; followed by Construction, with 18,736, which has 360 fewer unemployed. Although, in Construction the number of unemployed is reduced this month following the national tonic, as in agriculture.
For its part, Industry has 15,013 unemployed people, 178 more unemployed, and Agriculture has 1,786 unemployed, which translates into 14 fewer unemployed. On the other hand, 17,429 come from the previous unemployed group, that is, 93 people less than December.
As for the unemployment among foreigners in the Community of Madrid, it stood at 48,425 people in January, which translates into 1,308 unemployed more than the previous month, an increase of 2.78%. In the annual rate, 2,865 foreign unemployed were registered less (-5.59%). Of the total, 17,016 come from EU countries and 31,409 from non-EU countries.
Among the unemployment recorded by foreigners in the region, the largest number of unemployed is concentrated in the Services sector (34,587), followed by Construction (6,271), Industry (2,127) and Agriculture (463).
At the national level, unemployment rose especially in services, with 35,073 more unemployed (+2%), and in agriculture, which added 881 unemployed (+1.2%). In contrast, it fell in construction by 3,793 people (-2.1%) and in industry, by 14 unemployed (-0.01%). On the other hand, the group without previous employment, composed mostly of young people in search of their first work experience, registered 1,755 fewer unemployed (-0.8%).
Unemployment increased in January for both sexes, although the increase among women was greater. In particular, female unemployment increased by 25,284 unemployed compared to the previous month (+1.7%), compared to a rise in male unemployment of 5,108 unemployed (+0.5%).
LOWER THE RECRUITMENT
With regard to contracts, the Community of Madrid registered 163,681 contracts in January, that is, 10,848 fewer than in the previous month, which represents a drop of 6.22%. The year-on-year rate fell by 0.35%, with 569 contracts less than in the same month of the year 2025.
Of the total number of contracts, 82,863 were undefined in Madrid, 7,355 more than those signed in December, while the temporary contracts totaled 80,818, 18,203 less than in December. Thus, indefinite contracts in January accounted for 50.62% of the total, while temporary contracts accounted for 49.38% of the total registered in the region.
By sector, the largest number of contracts was concentrated in January in Services, up to 142,833, followed by Construction with 10,261, Industry (9,886) and Agriculture (701).
In addition, foreign contracts totaled 49,782 contracts in January, a drop of 0.15% (76 contracts less than in December). The year-on-year rate fell by 8.50% with 3,902 more contracts.
As for the national data, in January of this year 1,163,555 contracts were registered, 4.1% less than in the same month of 2025. Of all these, 484,295 were open-ended contracts, 4.7% less than a year earlier. In total, 41.6% of the contracts made in January were indefinite, a percentage very similar to that of January 2025, when the proportion of fixed contracts was 41.9%.
Among the indefinite contracts, 234,384 full-time contracts were made in January, 4.7% less than in the same month last year; 132,940 fixed-discontinuous contracts (-9.7% year-on-year) and 116,971 open-ended part-time contracts (+1.7%).
BENEFITS
Work has reported that a total of 153,109 people in the Community of Madrid received some type of unemployment benefit between the different modalities at the end of December (last data available).
In particular, 111,845 people obtained a contributory benefit; 41,117, a subsidy and 147 active income for integration. The average amount of contributory benefit per beneficiary was 1,064.4 euros. The expenditure on unemployment benefits reached 249,426 million euros in the region.
Nationally, unemployment benefit spending reached 2,107.3 million euros in December 2025, 1.1% more than in the same month of 2024. The average monthly expenditure per beneficiary, not including the agricultural subsidy of Andalusia and Extremadura, amounted to 1,506.2 euros in the month of December, 26.3% more.
AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
The number of unemployed and unemployed registered in the offices of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE), at the end of January, has increased by 30,392 in relation to the previous month (1.26%). The total registered unemployment has stood at 2,439,062 people.
In year-on-year terms, registered unemployment fell by 160,381 people (-6.17%). It also reduces the seasonally adjusted data that drops by 25,402 people.
Unemployment by sector
By economic sectors, the registered unemployment fell in Construction by 3,793 people (-2.13%), Industry by 14 people (-0.01%) and in the Group Without Previous Employment by 1,755 people (-0.79%). It increases in Services by 35,073 people (2.01%) and in Agriculture by 881 people (1.19%).
Unemployment by sex and age
Female unemployment increased by 25,284 women (1.75%) to 1,469,283 in relation to the month of December. It is the lowest figure in a month of January in the last 18 years. With respect to the month of January 2025, female unemployment fell by 94,148 (-6.02%).
Male unemployment stands at 969,779, rising by 5,108 people (0.53%). Compared to January 2025, male unemployment fell by 66,233 (-6.39%). Unemployment among young people under 25 years of age rose in January by 4,040 people (2.28%) compared to the previous month and marked their lowest record in a month of January.
Unemployment by autonomous communities
The unemployment recorded in January 2025 fell in Illes Balears by 1,260 people. It rises in the remaining 16 communities, headed by Andalucía (8,046), Comunidad de Madrid (3,659) and Galicia (3,113).
Contracts
The total number of contracts registered during the month of January was 1,163,555. Of these, 484,295 work contracts are of an indefinite nature and represent 41.62% of all contracts.
Unemployment benefits for December 2025
The beneficiaries and beneficiaries existing at the end of the month were a total of 1,783,205 people. The coverage of the unemployment protection system during the month of December 2025 has been 79.09%.
The average monthly expenditure per beneficiary person, not including the agricultural subsidy of Andalusia and Extremadura, in the month of December 2025 has been 1,506.2 euros, which means an increase over the same month of the previous year of 313.9 euros (26.3%). The total expenditure for December 2025 amounted to 2,107.35 million euros.