On 14 September 2026, the Spanish government reported a new high in the number of foreign contributors to social security. In August 2026, an average of 3,551,759 foreign workers were Seguridad Social registered. That was an increase of 39,535 on July and 482,490 compared with the previous year. Foreign workers accounted for 15.9 per cent of all contributors. After seasonal and calendar adjustment, the statistics show more than 3.5 million foreign contributors for the first time (3,526,093).
The statement identifies the extraordinary administrative regularisation process that began in April 2026 as a key driver of the increase. By 31 August 2026, a total of 337,917 people had been registered as liable to pay social security contributions as a result of the process; 269,627 were in the General Scheme and 16,912 were self-employed. According to the government, the effect of regularisation explains a large part of the accelerated year-on-year increase.
By country of origin, Morocco leads with 407,350 registered contributors, followed by Colombia (368.901), Romania (336.681), Venezuela (248,550) and Italy (222,158). The government also points out that the share of permanent contracts among foreign workers, at 86.8 per cent, is significantly higher than before the 2017–2021 labour market reform. Foreign workers account for a particularly large share in several sectors: these include hospitality at 33.6 per cent, agriculture at 28.1 per cent and construction at 27 per cent. These sectoral figures come from the official statement and refer to the corresponding share of foreign employment.
Independent bodies confirm the overall trend. The Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones published a wide-ranging report on employment trends on 2 September 2026, supporting the scale of the increase in foreign contributors. The news agency EFE and economic analysis organisations such as Funcas also interpreted the August figures along these lines. Analyses also indicate that employment growth would have been lower without the effect of regularisation.
The average figures recorded in August reflect both seasonal labour-market patterns in Spain and exceptional administrative effects. It remains unclear which parts of the increase will be lasting. That will depend on the further implementation of regularisation, economic conditions and sectoral demand. What is clear is that Spain reached a record number of foreign contributors in late summer 2026, and the figure can be explained statistically by the current administrative process and robust demand in service and labour-intensive sectors.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).