Unemployment edges up in February despite record number in work 

Unemployment in Catalonia rose slightly in February for the third consecutive month, even as the number of people in work climbed to a record high for the month, according to official data published on Tuesday.

The number of people registered as unemployed increased by 2,039 compared with January, up 0.63%, bringing the total to 327,253 – the lowest February figure since 2008.

It marks the first time in four years that unemployment has risen month-on-month in February.

Year-on-year, the jobless total fell by 7,068, a decline of 2.11% compared with February 2025.

At the same time, employment continued to increase. Social Security registrations rose by 23,564 in February to 3.85 million workers, the highest February figure on record.

Over the past 12 months, 73,742 jobs have been created, an increase of 1.95%.

This marks the slowest February growth rate since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The modest increase in unemployment was concentrated among foreign workers and driven by a rise in those without previous employment (+4.77%) and in the services sector (+0.48%).

By contrast, unemployment fell in agriculture (-0.72%), construction (-0.71%) and industry (-0.43%).

The number of foreign nationals on unemployment registers rose by 0.49% month-on-month and by 1.17% year-on-year, while the jobless rate among Spanish nationals fell on both a monthly and annual basis.

Catalonia's monthly employment growth outpaced the Spanish average of 0.45%.

Among Spain's autonomous communities, Catalonia ranked third, behind the Balearic Islands (2.75%) and Murcia (1.07%), and ahead of Valencia (0.51%), the Basque Country (0.39%) and the Madrid region (0.33%).

Across Spain as a whole, employment rose by nearly 100,000 Social Security contributors compared with January, marking the third-largest monthly increase since 2007.