Youth unemployment dropped by 10% in the Canary Islands during 2025

The Canarian Government’s Minister for Tourism and Employment, Jéssica de León, has outlined a package of measures to reduce youth unemployment and prevent young people from leaving their islands due to a lack of opportunities.

In a speech to the Canary Islands Parliament, the Minister emphasised that helping young people into work is an “absolute priority” for her Department. She noted that the Canary Islands ended 2025 with 7,714 young people unemployed, representing a 10% decrease compared to 2024.

Furthermore, the archipelago not only achieved the lowest unemployment rate in its history for this age group, 19.41% according to the Labour Force Survey (EPA), but also fell below the national average. Added to these figures is the increase in Social Security enrolment among this group, which grew by more than 11% by the end of the year.

De León also highlighted the positive trend in youth unemployment on islands such as El Hierro, where unemployment fell by 14.5% in 2025. “We are aware of the difficulty involved in retaining talent on the islands, but the figures show that the labour market is offering more and more opportunities,” she said.

To bridge the geographical divide and nurture emerging talent, the Canary Islands Employment Service (SCE) is rolling out a record-breaking training programme worth €67 million in 2026, incorporating online learning for the first time to facilitate access from anywhere in the archipelago.