Spain's unemployment rate falls to 9.8%, lowest since 2008, but doubts remain

Unemployment falls below 10%: can the figure the government celebrates be trusted?

The unemployment rate has fallen below 10% for the first time since 2008, according to official figures reported by La Vanguardia. The government presents the data as a triumph of "perronomics", but it has been met with skepticism in many quarters. The questions arise immediately: what about wages? And what about job quality?

Skepticism about the figures

Some argue the figure is neither good nor bad, but simply false. They point to alleged statistical manipulation inflating the decline. While the official figure is what it is, the debate centers on what the indicator fails to capture: precarious work, temporary contracts and involuntary part-time employment. The question "what about wages?" sums up the frustration of those who feel the recovery never reaches their pockets.

Immigration and the labor market paradox

A curious aspect of the debate is how the immigration narrative adapts to any data. If unemployment is low, we are told there is a shortage of workers; if it is high, immigration is needed to boost the economy. In this case, with unemployment at record lows, the call to import labor continues. For some, this dialectic masks a third-worldization agenda already visible in neighborhoods and public services. The argument that "millions of immigrants are needed" is repeated regardless of the unemployment rate, which breeds distrust.

Echoes of 2010: history repeating?

The coincidence with Spain's national football team winning the 2026 World Cup — its second title after 2010 — has led some to recall the crisis that erupted back then. That year, Zapatero's government boasted of "green shoots" while the economy was collapsing, until austerity was imposed from Brussels. The analogy is tempting: when the headline indicator smiles, it is wise to look beyond. History does not repeat itself, but sometimes it rhymes.

For now, unemployment is falling, the World Cup has been won, and the economy still fails to convince those who live it day by day. Perhaps the next time we see a record figure, it will be worth asking what lies behind it.