Migrant Regularization Changes Spain’s Labor Market Statistics

A large-scale migrant regularization program has made it more difficult to assess the situation in Spain’s labor market. Hundreds of thousands of foreigners have appeared in official records for the first time, simultaneously supporting employment figures and increasing the number of registered jobseekers. Economists warn that part of this increase reflects people moving out of the informal economy rather than the creation of new jobs, Bloomberg reports.

Employment in Spain Rose 3.13% Over the Year

According to Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, the average number of employed people fell by 162,840 in August 2026 compared with July, to 22.35 million. Such a decline is typical at the end of summer due to seasonal factors, although this year it was noticeably smaller than in previous years. Over 12 months, the figure increased by 679,023, or 3.13%.

After seasonal and calendar adjustments, the picture appears even more stable. Employment increased by 83,844 in August to 22.37 million, the highest level on record. The adjusted series has now maintained positive momentum for 67 consecutive months.

The contribution of foreign workers is particularly notable. In August, 3.55 million foreign nationals were officially employed, 39,535 more than a month earlier and 482,490 more than a year ago. Nearly 340,000 migrants obtained the right to work legally in Spain under the extraordinary regularization program, which is having a significant impact on the overall labor market picture.

Regularization of Foreigners in Spain

By August 31, 2026, 337,917 foreigners in Spain who had obtained legal status under the extraordinary regularization program were officially employed. Of these, 269,627, or 79.8%, were working as employees, while another 16,912 had registered as self-employed. By the time applications closed on June 30, authorities had received about 1.1 million requests, which are still being processed.

Around 40,000 migrants have also registered with employment services since the program began. Secretary of State for Labour Joaquín Pérez Rey said most had no previously recorded employment history. Legal status gave them access to official job-search services and the ability to enter into formal employment contracts.

This means there are roughly 8.4 employed participants in the program for every registered unemployed person. Both groups may continue to grow as the remaining applications are processed, and authorities therefore do not yet consider the process complete. The new data are already having a noticeable impact on overall statistics. People who previously remained outside the official system are now being recorded either as employed or as jobseekers.

Pre-Regularization Forecasts Diverged From the Results

BBVA’s research division compared the August figures with estimates prepared in March, before the extraordinary regularization program began. By the end of summer, the number of officially registered foreign workers in Spain was around 211,000 higher than expected. However, analysts do not believe that the entire increase can be directly attributed to the new program.

The report points to a possible “deadweight effect”: some migrants might have entered the formal labor market even without the change in their legal status. The gap with the March estimate therefore does not represent the exact number of people who found employment as a result of regularization. It reflects only the difference between the expected and actual trends.

A similar pattern can be seen in unemployment figures. Between April and August, the decline in unemployment was 102,000 smaller than projected in the spring, with foreigners accounting for 64% of that gap, or 64,900 people. These figures also indicate the impact of changes in the composition of the population covered by official statistics, but they do not allow the entire difference to be directly attributed to the regularization program.

Migration Policy Deepens Divisions in the EU

Analysts at International Investment note that the economic effects of Spain’s regularization program are increasingly intertwined with political risks. After a large number of migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, Madrid’s approach came under renewed criticism from European politicians. Critics have linked the crisis to a possible pull effect created by the program. The dispute has already gone beyond political rhetoric. On August 1, Italy reinstated checks on internal air and sea borders with Spain, citing the risk of further movement by irregular migrants, and later extended the measure for another 15 days. Madrid responded with similar restrictions.

For Spain, the situation creates a twofold challenge. The government aims to bring hundreds of thousands of foreigners out of the informal economy and expand the officially employed workforce, while elsewhere in the EU the program is increasingly viewed through the lens of external border control and possible secondary migration. European countries are generally tightening rules for new arrivals, particularly refugees and irregular migrants. Spain, meanwhile, continues to pursue its own approach, which increasingly stands apart from that of other member states. If this divergence persists, Madrid will have to strike an increasingly difficult balance between domestic economic interests and the demands of its European partners.