Spain's public sector employment reaches record 3.07 million, temp contracts over 30%

Spain’s public administration recorded 3.07 million workers in January, the highest level since July 2025 (3.1 million). The increase is concentrated in the autonomous communities, which employ 1.93 million staff (about 63 % of the total), followed by local administrations (594,898) and the state sector (546,554). Growth is linked to recent wage rises, the rollout of a 35‑hour work week, expanded tele‑working and a series of record‑size public‑employment offers aimed at renewing ageing staff and covering upcoming retirements.

At the same time, the temporary‑contract rate remains high: 936,000 public workers (30.5 % of the workforce) are on interim or fixed‑term positions, far above the European Commission’s 8 % ceiling. The bulk of temporaries are in the autonomous communities (702,901, 36.4 % of their staff) and local authorities (215,138, 36.1 %). The state sector’s temporary rate is low (3.5 %). Sectors with the greatest temporality are health (42.4 %), non‑university teaching (31.6 %) and regional administration (32.3 %). With an estimated 100,000 retirements each year, many of the temporary posts have been filled for more than three years, signalling structural reliance on short‑term contracts despite stabilization legislation.