Labour Force Survey: Tourism Employment Continues to Rise in Spain

International

3.08 million people employed in tourism between July and September – Permanent contracts up 3.6%, unemployment rate down to 7.5%

According to data from Spain’s Labour Force Survey (EPA) analysed by Turespaña, a total of 3,085,831 people were employed in tourism-related activities in the third quarter of 2025. This represents an increase of 2.2% compared to the same period in 2024 – equivalent to 66,768 more employees.

Tourism employment accounted for 13.8% of total jobs in the Spanish economy, while the unemployment rate in the sector fell to 7.5%, down 0.6 percentage points from the previous year. For comparison, Spain’s overall unemployment rate stood at 10.5% in the same quarter.

Salaried employment keeps growing

The number of salaried employees in tourism rose to 2,643,063, marking a year-on-year increase of 3.6% – the seventeenth consecutive quarterly rise. The strongest growth was recorded in passenger transport (+3.7%) and other tourism activities (+13.3%), while travel agencies posted a smaller but positive gain of +1.1%.

In contrast, hospitality experienced a decline of 1.6%, driven mainly by a 3.4% drop in food and beverage services. Travel agencies, however, saw an 8.7% increase, and passenger transport grew by 0.3%.

The salaried employment rate (employees as a share of total employment) stood at 85.7%, 1.1 percentage points higher than in the third quarter of 2024.

Permanent and full-time work on the rise

The number of employees with permanent contracts reached 80.9%, increasing by 4% year-on-year – the seventeenth consecutive increase. Temporary contracts also grew slightly by 2.1%, bringing the temporary employment rate in the sector to 19.1%, 0.3 percentage points lower than a year earlier.

Full-time workers accounted for 78% of total salaried employees, up 1.9% year-on-year.

Self-employment decreases

The number of self-employed workers in tourism fell to 442,587, representing a 5.4% decrease compared with the same period in 2024. Declines were observed in hospitality (-9.2%) and passenger transport (-11.6%), while other tourism activities recorded a strong increase of 13.4%.

Andalusia leads regional growth

Employment in tourism increased in ten autonomous communities. Among the main regions:

· Andalusia: +16%

· Madrid: +8.6%

· Valencian Community: +3.2%

· Balearic Islands: +0.7%

· Canary Islands: +4.1%

Meanwhile, Catalonia registered a decline of 11.9% compared with the same quarter of 2024.

These results highlight the continued strength and diversification of Spain’s tourism labour market, with steady gains in permanent, full-time positions and a growing contribution to national employment.