The Q2 2026 EPA places the unemployment rate in Seville at 13%, with 127,200 unemployed. Despite year-on-year improvement, unions warn of insecurity and the gender gap.
The unions CCOO and UGT in Seville have focused on job insecurity and gender inequality as shadows over the data from the Active Population Survey (EPA) for the second quarter of 2026, which reflects an unemployment rate of 13% in the province, with 127,200 unemployed people. Although the year-on-year comparison shows a reduction of 5,100 unemployed compared to the same period in 2025, the increase of 10,600 unemployed compared to the previous quarter has raised union alarms.
For CCOO, the gender gap and job insecurity "overshadow" the evolution of employment. The Secretary of Employment of CCOO in Seville, Jorge Carlos Lebrón, has pointed out that the labour reform has worked, but inequality "continues to punish the most vulnerable sectors." Specifically, he warned that the unemployment rate among young people and women reaches 14.5%, well above the provincial average.
Lebrón has also criticised the business discourse on absenteeism. "More than 80% of the so-called 'absenteeism' are medical leaves signed by a doctor," he stated, emphasising that "this is not fraud, it is simply the health of young people and families broken by unsustainable rhythms." The union leader has claimed the need to prioritise the health and dignity of workers over private interests, reminding that temporary incapacity is "the right to heal, not an excuse."
From UGT, the assessment is equally critical. The union believes that the figures "abruptly break" the positive trend at the beginning of the year, attributing the change in direction to dependence on an "excessively seasonal" productive model. Sector analysis reveals that the services sector, despite reducing unemployment by 6,900 people (-13.8%) compared to the previous quarter, still concentrates 43,200 unemployed, demonstrating that "the seasonal reactivation of tourism does not generate stable employment, but volatile contracts."
One of the most concerning data for UGT is the increase in unemployment among those seeking their first job, which has grown by 22.1% to 10,900 people, accumulating a total of 60,200 affected. "The most dramatic situation is experienced by those seeking their first job," the union states. Construction leads job destruction in percentage terms, with an increase of 180.8% in the number of unemployed, which stands at 7,300 people. Agriculture adds 1,500 unemployed (+12.6%) to reach 13,400, and industry adds 300 unemployed (+10.71%) for a total of 3,100.
The Business Confederation of Seville (CES) has offered a more nuanced view. In a statement, the employers' association acknowledges an evolution "with light and shadow." On one hand, the quarterly increase in unemployment coincides with the end of the spring campaign, but the destruction of 10,400 jobs in industry and construction, strategic sectors with "tractor effect" on the Seville economy, is particularly concerning. "It is essential to promote productive investment, expedite the execution of business projects, and accelerate investments in infrastructure," the CES states.
Despite everything, the year-on-year comparison offers a positive data: Seville records 5,100 fewer unemployed than in the second quarter of 2025, dropping from 132,300 to 127,200 unemployed. This improvement, according to the CES, occurs in a context of a larger active population, demonstrating the capacity of the Seville labour market to incorporate more people. The employers' association insists on the need to "create an environment that provides legal security, favours investment, and improves the competitiveness of our companies."
The unions, for their part, demand policies that address insecurity and the gender gap. While CCOO calls for progress towards conditions that "allow us to spend our time living, not just surviving," UGT demands a change in the productive model that reduces dependence on seasonality. The debate on employment in Seville remains open, with figures improving in the long term but hiding unequal realities.
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