What changes now for visitors and residents?

The October figures, which the Ministry of Labour published on Wednesday 4 November 2026, change nothing for visitors or residents. Our research found no new benefit amounts, no new eligibility rules and no application deadline linked to this data.

The statistic counts only people registered as jobseekers at the employment office. It is not the jobless rate from the EPA survey (labour force survey) run by Spain’s statistics institute, the INE.

Anyone who loses a job in the Canary Islands registers with the Servicio Canario de Empleo (the Canary Islands employment service) and with SEPE, the national employment agency. We did not check the individual application steps, so ask the two offices.

How sharply did unemployment rise across the islands?

The ministry reports 141,518 registered jobless in the Canary Islands at the end of October, which is 1,215 or 0.87% more than in September. Compared with October 2025, however, the figure is 6,161 people, or 4.17%, lower.

The province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which covers Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, counted 68,582 unemployed. That is 832 or 1.23% more than in September, but 2,729 or 3.83% fewer than a year ago.

The province of Las Palmas, with Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, reached 72,936 unemployed. It rose by only 383, or 0.53%, and stands 3,432 or 4.49% below last year.

The report gives no figure for Tenerife alone. It also publishes no breakdown for the other islands or for municipalities such as those in the south.

Which sectors and contracts lie behind the figure?

The services sector counts 111,358 unemployed at the end of October, 510 more than a month earlier. Agriculture has 2,147 jobless, an increase of 54.

The group with no previous job grew fastest: 11,543 people, 651 more than in September. According to the ministry, most of them are over 44.

Construction records 11,343 unemployed and industry 5,127. The report gave no monthly change for either sector.

Employers in the Canary Islands signed 67,040 contracts in October. That is 2,604 or 3.74% fewer than in September and 3,405 or 4.83% fewer than in October 2025.

Of these, 28,948 were permanent contracts. That type fell by 2,393 or 7.64% on the month and by 1,243 or 4.12% on the year.

How many people receive unemployment benefits?

By the end of September, 29,231 benefit claims had been filed in the Canary Islands, the ministry says. Of these, 27,468 were approved and registered, on average within 0.60 days.

The number of benefit recipients thus rose to 90,776 people. They cost 106.3 million euros, an average of 1,022 euros per benefit.

This average is a statistic, not a legal amount. The report does not say how high a benefit is in an individual case.

In total, the employment offices held 208,980 jobseekers at the end of October. Of these, 150,971 had no job, including the 141,518 unemployed and 9,453 subsidised farm seasonal workers, who are counted separately.

The group of jobseekers without work grew by 869 people, or 0.58%, in October. Compared with last year, it shrank by 5,812, or 3.71%.

How did the figures develop in the months before?

In September, unemployment in the Canary Islands fell by 4,156 people to 140,303, the lowest September figure since 2007. Santa Cruz de Tenerife then recorded 1,932 fewer jobless, and Las Palmas 2,224 fewer.

In August the figure stood at 144,459, after a rise of 291 people. At the end of June it was 142,409.

The figure also rose in October 2025, by 1.59% to 147,679. The authorities then cited a seasonal pattern: a monthly rise is normal in October.

For 2026 our research found no official explanation, either on the season or on tourism. According to the ministry, the rise is concentrated in services and among people with no previous job.

The November figures appear in early December 2026. No confirmed publication date exists so far.