The Minister of Tourism and Employment of the Government of the Canary Islands, Jéssica de León, has made a positive assessment of the data from the Active Population Survey (EPA) corresponding to the first quarter of 2026 that became known this Tuesday, and which confirm the good performance of the labor market in the islands.
Employment reaches its highest level with 1.06 million employed. This figure represents an increase of 36,500 in the last year (3.56%), which confirms that job creation and the positive evolution of the labor market in the Canary Islands are maintained.
In this period, the evolution of employment among young people also stands out, with the youth unemployment rate of 17.35%, the lowest record in the historical series in the Canary Islands, which reflects a significant improvement in employment opportunities for this group.
De León underlined that "the EPA data reflect that the Canary Islands are going through a positive moment in terms of employment, reaching a historic record in the number of employed people and placing the unemployment rate at 11.4%. In the last year, unemployment has been significantly reduced, which shows a favorable evolution of the labor market in the islands".
"These results show that the policies being promoted are bearing fruit. Support for self-employed individuals, reinforcement of training, promotion of dual vocational training, and coordination between departments are allowing us to better reach the groups that need it most, especially young people and those over 52 years of age, who have traditionally faced greater difficulties in accessing employment."
Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, there are 23,700 fewer unemployed people (-14.80%), bringing the total to 136,500. This decrease helps the unemployment rate remain at 11.4%, the lowest level since 2007.
In interannual terms, Canarias is positioned as the second autonomous community where unemployment has fallen the most in the last year.
The active population reaches 1,197,100 people, after increasing by 16,400 in the last year (0.83%) and the activity rates (60.22%) and employment (53.35%) reflect the consolidation of this positive dynamic.
From January to March, the data show a positive evolution of the main indicators. Employment increases by 1.63%, which means 17,000 more people, the active population grows by 0.22%, and unemployment is reduced by 9.54%, which is equivalent to 14,400 fewer people.
In this context, the Canary Islands are positioned as the autonomous community where employment growth is highest in the last quarter. In the year-on-year comparison, the Archipelago occupies sixth place in employment growth.