The Active Population Survey (EPA) data for the third quarter of 2026 reveals a rise in employment in the province of León, with 4,100 more people employed compared to the previous quarter, reaching a total of 186,200. Conversely, the number of unemployed has also increased by 1,300, now standing at 19,000, up from 17,700 recorded in the second quarter of the year.
Year-on-year, León's labour market shows positive trends, with an increase of 10,200 employed individuals compared to the third quarter of 2025 and a reduction in unemployment by 2,700. The unemployment rate has decreased from 10.98% a year ago to the current 9.27%, while the activity rate has improved from 49.75% to 50.83%. Despite these improvements, León remains among the provinces with the lowest activity rates in the country.
The León Federation of Entrepreneurs (FELE) expresses moderate optimism regarding the long-term evolution of the labour market in León, marked by an increase in employment and a decrease in unemployment on a year-on-year basis. However, it cautions that despite this improvement, the province continues to face significant structural challenges, highlighting demographic issues and difficulties in attracting talent.
In this context, FELE emphasises the need for more effective active employment policies that promote training, digitalisation, and the integration of young people, women, and long-term unemployed individuals into the labour market. It also calls for measures that facilitate the attraction and retention of talent to meet the real needs of businesses.
FELE underscores the commitment of León's business community to maintain economic activity and job creation, despite operating in an environment marked by uncertainty, rising labour and production costs, regulatory pressures, and challenges in finding certain professional profiles. This situation particularly affects small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), micro-enterprises, and self-employed individuals, who form the backbone of León's productive fabric and have less capacity to absorb new cost increases.
Consequently, FELE insists on the necessity to avoid new fiscal, labour, and administrative burdens that could hinder job creation and limit business competitiveness. It considers it essential to reinforce legal security, ensure regulatory stability, and maintain Social Dialogue as a fundamental tool for addressing economic and labour reforms.
Finally, with general elections scheduled for 29 November, FELE believes that economic and labour issues should take a priority place in political debate. It calls on various political parties to include specific, realistic, and measurable proposals in their electoral programmes that aim to improve business competitiveness, boost investment and productivity, reduce bureaucratic obstacles, and ensure a framework of stability and legal security that favours business growth and job creation.
