Employment by main economic activity - Regions in Spain

Spain: Employment by main economic activity - Regions was 22.00 million Persons in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
22.00 million Persons
Change on year
up 2.3%
World rank
8th
of 43 countries
All-time high
22.00 million Persons
in 2024
All-time low
16.73 million Persons
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Employment by main economic activity - Regions in Spain, 2000–2024

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M2000201220242000: 16.7M Persons2001: 17.3M Persons2002: 17.7M Persons2003: 18.3M Persons2004: 19.0M Persons2005: 19.8M Persons2006: 20.6M Persons2007: 21.3M Persons2008: 21.3M Persons2009: 20.0M Persons2010: 19.6M Persons2011: 19.1M Persons2012: 18.3M Persons2013: 17.9M Persons2014: 18.1M Persons2015: 18.6M Persons2016: 19.0M Persons2017: 19.5M Persons2018: 19.9M Persons2019: 20.5M Persons2020: 19.6M Persons2021: 20.1M Persons2022: 20.8M Persons2023: 21.5M Persons2024: 22.0M Persons

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

The most recent figure for employment by main economic activity - regions in Spain is 22.00 million Persons, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.3% on the previous year and up 21.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, employment by main economic activity - regions in Spain peaked at 22.00 million Persons in 2024 and was at its lowest, 16.73 million Persons, in 2000.

Spain ranks 8th of 43 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Employment by main economic activity - Regions in Spain, year by year

Annual values for Employment by main economic activity - Regions in Spain, 2000 to 2024.
Year Persons Change
2000 16.73 million Persons
2001 17.29 million Persons +3.3%
2002 17.73 million Persons +2.6%
2003 18.31 million Persons +3.3%
2004 19.00 million Persons +3.7%
2005 19.81 million Persons +4.3%
2006 20.63 million Persons +4.1%
2007 21.30 million Persons +3.2%
2008 21.31 million Persons +0.1%
2009 19.97 million Persons -6.3%
2010 19.61 million Persons -1.8%
2011 19.13 million Persons -2.4%
2012 18.31 million Persons -4.3%
2013 17.91 million Persons -2.2%
2014 18.09 million Persons +1.0%
2015 18.61 million Persons +2.9%
2016 19.01 million Persons +2.1%
2017 19.51 million Persons +2.6%
2018 19.94 million Persons +2.2%
2019 20.47 million Persons +2.7%
2020 19.57 million Persons -4.4%
2021 20.07 million Persons +2.6%
2022 20.83 million Persons +3.8%
2023 21.51 million Persons +3.3%
2024 22.00 million Persons +2.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 19.21 million Persons 16.73 million Persons 21.31 million Persons 10
2010s 19.06 million Persons 17.91 million Persons 20.47 million Persons 10
2020s 20.80 million Persons 19.57 million Persons 22.00 million Persons 5

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 5 France 30.62 million Persons compare
  2. 6 Italy 26.51 million Persons compare
  3. 7 Colombia 23.62 million Persons compare
  4. 9 Canada 20.17 million Persons compare
  5. 10 Poland 17.42 million Persons compare
  6. 11 Australia 14.12 million Persons compare

See the full ranking of 49 places →

More economy & growth data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is employment by main economic activity - regions in Spain?
Employment by main economic activity - regions in Spain was 22.00 million Persons in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest employment by main economic activity - regions recorded in Spain?
The highest recorded value was 22.00 million Persons in 2024.
What is the lowest employment by main economic activity - regions recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 16.73 million Persons in 2000.
How does Spain rank for employment by main economic activity - regions?
Spain ranks 8th out of 43 countries with data for 2024.
Is employment by main economic activity - regions rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Spain data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Employment by main economic activity - Regions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Employment by main economic activity - Regions in Spain. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/employment-by-main-economic-activity-regions/spain/

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About this data

Indicator
Employment by main economic activity - Regions
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
49 places, 1,247 data points, 1980–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset provides indicators on employment by 10 broad activities and labour utilisation, in large regions (TL2) and small regions (TL3). Data source and definition Employment data is collected from Eurostat for EU countries and via delegates of the OECD Working Party on Territorial Indicators (WPTI), as well as from national statistical offices' websites. Employment is measured at place of work. Labour utilisation is measured by the number of employment at place of work per capita, for total activity. See the Regional data sources. Definition of regions Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). See the OECD Territorial grid. Use of economic data on small regions TL3 regions are grouped into typologies based on shared characteristics. For economic analysis, TL3 regions belonging to the same Functional Urban Area (FUA) with more than 250,000 inhabitants are aggregated into a single metropolitan region to reduce distortions from commuting. See the OECD Territorial Correspondence Table. Cite this dataset OECD Regions, Cities and Local Areas database http://oe.cd/geostats. Further information OECD Regions and Cities Statistical Atlas OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance For questions and/or comments, please email RegionStat@oecd.org.