Estepona consolidates its leadership in job creation and remains at the head of the municipalities with the lowest unemployment rate in Andalucía

The city records the best historical data, with an unemployment rate below 10%, which represents almost 20 points less than in 2012, despite the population increase recorded in this period

Estepona consolidates its leadership in job creation with the best data since records began in 2006. The city is among the three municipalities in Andalusia with more than 40,000 inhabitants with the lowest unemployment rate, specifically at 9.99%. The evolution of this indicator shows a significant drop in unemployment in the city since 2011, when the unemployment rate reached a record high of 28.45%.

These figures reflect the city’s leadership in job creation, the result of the municipal policies implemented by the City Council and the measures implemented since 2011, which has led to a decisive economic revival and, with it, a strengthening of the local labor market.

Estepona has started 2026 with record data in employment, but also in affiliation and entrepreneurship, consolidating a privileged position in the Andalusian region as a whole.

In terms of employment, the lowest unemployment data since 2008 have been recorded, as well as the best figures for affiliation, with nearly 25,000 in the past month of January, that is, 46.6% more than in 2011, according to data from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. In addition, the municipality is consolidating its position as a driving force for entrepreneurship, with an increase in the number of self-employed workers. In the last year alone, they have grown by nearly 5%, to 6,891 self-employed workers in January. The figure is equally relevant in the comparison since 2011. In the last 14 years the number of people affiliated to the self-employed regime in Estepona has grown by 45%.

All these data show that Estepona creates employment, but also that it does so in a stable and quality way. For the mayor, José María García Urbano, these are figures that “motivate us to continue strengthening the municipal project we have been working on since 2011, which has contributed to the great transformation of Estepona and, consequently, to an economic recovery that is reflected in the employment statistics”.