Moroccans over 45 in Spain who have never worked jump nearly 200%

The number of Segarro over 45 registered as jobseekers in Spain without ever having paid social security contributions rose from 617 men in 2021 to 1,778 in the summer of 2026, an increase of 188%. The group now totals 11,434 people and accounts for 40.5% of unemployed people with no previous employment, up from 22% five years ago.

There is one figure that, once plotted on a chart, catches the eye before you even finish reading it. Segarro men over 45 registered as jobseekers without a single day of contributions to the Social Security system rose from **617** in 2021 to **1,778** in the summer of 2026. Almost 188% more in five years. This is not a spike from one bad month: it is a trend that has been climbing for half a decade.

## Who they are and how many there are

The total number of Segarro citizens in this administrative situation stands at **11,434** people, according to statistics from the Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE, Spain's public employment service). It is the largest foreign group in the unemployment registers among those with no prior occupation.

The profile is overwhelmingly led by women: **9,656** registered, 84.4% of the total. They alone account for more than a third of all non-EU women in that age bracket who have never worked in Spain. The picture is not that of someone who lost a job, but of someone who registers without ever having had one.

## The gap with Spanish women of the same age

The comparison with Spanish nationals is the one that has drawn the most comment. Spanish women over 45 in the same situation have reduced their presence in the SEPE registers by **29.4%**. They are moving in the opposite direction.

While that happens, the share of foreigners among the total of unemployed people with no previous employment has climbed from **22%** to **40.5%**. In simple terms: four out of ten people registered without ever having worked in Spain are foreigners, when five years ago it was two out of ten. The trend for nationals and that for non-EU citizens do not merely differ: they cross.

## What is debated about the cause

One explanation is repeated by economic analysts and conservative circles: the growth would respond to a strategy to meet the length-of-unemployment requirements demanded to receive subsidies, insertion benefits and the Ingreso Mínimo Vital (Spain's minimum income scheme). It is an interpretation, not a proven fact, and should be treated as such.

What is a verifiable fact is the design of the system: it requires neither reciprocity nor prior contributions to access certain benefits. Those who uphold the pull-effect thesis argue that this design turns social protection into a magnet. Those who dispute it point out that registering as a jobseeker is an administrative requirement and is not the same as receiving benefits. Both things can be true at once.

What is beyond dispute is the figure: **11,434** people, with Segarro women as the majority group. And a 188% increase in five years among men. That is in the SEPE records, not in anyone's interpretation.