Overview
- October 2026 produced a record monthly gain of 186,612 Social Security affiliates that lifted total affiliates to about 22.62 million, driven in large part by newly regularized migrants.
- Official figures show roughly 490,586 people are now cotizando with permits from the extraordinary regularization, a figure that rose by about 70,000 in one month and concentrates in Catalunya and Madrid.
- Registered unemployment also rose in October by 43,128 to 2,422,633, a seasonal services-sector shift amplified by many newly legalized people signing on as jobseekers while they look for work.
- Self-employment passed 3.5 million for the first time as October saw strong education rehiring and regional variation with Madrid adding the most affiliates and Catalunya recording its best October ever.
- Unions and regional officials say the numbers show more formal coverage but raise concerns about pay, job quality and housing access, and the data underline how administrative registers can shift quickly when informal workers legalize.