Unemployment rate in the Canary Islands falls to 10.9 per cent

In the third quarter of 2026, the unemployment rate in the Canary Islands fell to 10.9 per cent, a drop of 3.7 percentage points within a year. These figures are based on data from the Labour Force Survey (EPA) published by the Canary Islands Statistical Office ISTAC. Gran Canaria recorded the sharpest decline of all the islands, at 4.6 percentage points.

According to the survey, the number of unemployed fell to 131,640, representing a 23.5 per cent decrease compared with the previous year. Gran Canaria led the way here too, with the figure falling by 26 per cent. According to the national labour force survey, the Canary Islands also recorded the strongest employment growth in Spain among the Spanish regions in the same quarter.

This continues a trend seen during the summer months. Unemployment had already fallen in August, whilst consumer prices in the Canary Islands reached a record high. Prior to that, the number of long-term unemployed had already fallen to a long-term low. Among those officially registered as unemployed, however, the decline is far less pronounced.

Registered unemployed in the Canary Islands: the fall is significantly smaller than expected

According to ISTAC, 140,303 people were registered as unemployed in the Canary Islands in September, 3.5 per cent fewer than in the same month last year. Compared with the quarterly survey, the decline is therefore many times smaller. This is because the two sets of statistics measure different things: the labour force survey is based on a questionnaire, whereas the registered unemployment figure counts the people registered with job centres.

On the employment front, ISTAC recorded 972,560 employees subject to social security contributions on the islands in September, an increase of 3.1 per cent compared with the previous year.