Spain registers an unemployment rate of 16.7% among non-EU immigrants, the third highest in the European Union, only behind Sweden and Finland, according to Eurostat.
The unemployment rate for non-EU citizens in Spain stands at 16.7%, the third highest in the entire European Union, according to data published by Eurostat, the community statistical office, as reported by labandera.es. Only Sweden, with 22.8%, and Finland, with 20.7%, have worse figures. The EU average is 12.3%, more than four points below that of Spain.
The gap is particularly pronounced among young people aged 15 to 29: the unemployment rate for non-EU nationals in this age group reaches 21.8%, meaning that more than one in five young people from third countries seeking employment in Spain cannot find it.
The Eurostat report also shows that Spain led the overall unemployment in the EU in 2025, with a rate of 10.5%, compared to the 6% EU average. The unemployment rate for non-EU foreigners exceeds the national figure by more than six points.
“The absence of a model focused on qualification, talent attraction, or the requirement for real employability is consolidating a dangerous structural unemployment pool that saturates public services and overloads the state subsidy network.”
The data contrasts with the rhetoric of the Pedro Sánchez government, which defends immigration as an economic driver and a way to sustain the system. Eurostat statistics show that the Spanish labour market does not absorb workers from outside the EU with the same ease.
The European statistical office publishes these figures annually. The next unemployment data by origin will update a picture that, for now, places Spain among the countries with the highest non-EU unemployment in the entire community bloc.
You may also like
