Spain Retail Trade Growth Hits 4-Month High

Retail trade in Spain rose by 4.1% year-on-year in March 2026, the most in four months, following an upwardly revised 2.3% increase in the prior month. Growth was led by non-food sales (7% vs 3.5% in February), especially household equipment (7.6% vs 1.6%) and healthcare items (6.1% vs 1.8%), while personal equipment sales rose more moderately (4.5% vs 6.6%). Food sales also picked up, rising 2.8% compared with 1.8% in the previous month. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade went up by 1.2%, the strongest increase since February 2025, after a revised flat reading in the previous month.

Spain Jobless Rate Rises in Q1

Spain’s unemployment rate climbed to 10.83% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 9.93% in the previous period, above market expectations of 9.8%. The number of unemployed persons rose by 231,500, reaching a total of 2.71 million. This seasonal spike follows the conclusion of the holiday period, a typical trend in the Spanish labor market. Employment figures saw a contraction, with 170,300 jobs lost, bringing the total number of occupied persons to 22.29 million. The services sector bore the brunt of the decline, shedding 228,400 positions, while industry showed resilience with 28,100 new roles. Despite the quarterly dip, the annual trend remains positive, with unemployment falling by 80,600 compared to Q1 2025. The Labor Force Participation Rate increased slightly to 58.86%, as the active population grew by 447,000.

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