Employment in Malaga province fell by almost 10,000 between the second and third quarters of 2026, despite the summer months usually bringing peak tourist-season activity. The Labour Force Survey (EPA) put the number of people in work at 825,600 in July to September, down from a record 835,500 in the previous quarter.
The decline stands out against the province’s recent quarterly pattern. Historical EPA figures available through Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), dating back to 2002, show only one other third-quarter fall in employment in Malaga: a drop of roughly the same size in 2002. The survey therefore points to an unusual summer reversal, though it does not by itself explain what caused it.
Malaga was among several Spanish provinces where employment fell over the quarter. The largest reported decrease was in Madrid, with 49,200 fewer people in work, followed by Seville with 19,900, Valencia with 18,500, Huelva with 15,000 and Girona with 11,800. The supplied figures place Malaga’s loss at close to 10,000.
The figures describe people in employment across the province, not just workers in tourism. They do not identify which industries or towns accounted for the change, nor whether particular types of jobs were affected more than others. They also compare quarterly survey estimates, rather than recording a count of individual job losses.
Trade unions pointed to housing affordability as a possible factor behind the employment decline, according to the discovery report. The material supplied does not include further detail from the unions or evidence establishing a direct link between housing costs and the quarterly figures.
The EPA data also show that Malaga’s result was part of a broader set of regional employment falls during the summer. But the available figures do not establish whether the province’s decline will continue into the final quarter of the year.
The next quarterly Labour Force Survey release will provide a fresh measure of employment and unemployment. Until then, the reported fall offers a snapshot of a weaker summer quarter in Malaga province, rather than a confirmed longer-term trend.