The island registers more employed and fewer unemployed individuals compared to a year ago, according to the Insular Economic Bulletin for the second quarter of 2026.
By Airam Cabrera Suárez
••3 min read
IA
Generic image of Canarias banknotes and an upward economic chart.
Tenerife's economy maintains a positive trend in the second quarter of 2026, with rising employment and falling unemployment, although a slowdown in tourism demand is moderating overall activity.
The island is experiencing a favorable economic evolution during the second quarter of 2026, with a moderation observed compared to the beginning of the year. A decrease in tourist arrivals, particularly from international visitors, has influenced activity, but other productive sectors have maintained positive performance. The labor market continues to be a strong point, showing an increase in employed individuals and a decrease in unemployment year-on-year, according to the Tenerife Insular Economic Bulletin presented today, July 14th.
Data for the second quarter indicates that Tenerife ended June with an unemployment rate of 10.28%, a reduction of 0.8 percentage points from the previous year and below the Canary Islands average of 11.60%. The island currently has 447,920 employed persons, 4,470 more than in June 2025, and the number of unemployed has decreased by 3,730 people year-on-year.
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"The data confirms that Tenerife maintains an economy with resilience and job creation capacity, even in a scenario where activity is moderating. We have a solid productive base, but we must continue working to improve the competitiveness of our companies and, especially, to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to grow and generate more opportunities."
Manuel Fernández emphasized the need to consolidate more balanced growth, where tourism remains a fundamental driver, and simultaneously, industry, commerce, the primary sector, and construction increase their contribution to the island's economy. He also noted that the Cabildo of Tenerife plans to approve its budget for 2027 in the November plenary session, ensuring funds are available from January 1, 2027.
Meanwhile, Lola Pérez, General Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Navigation of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, highlighted that registered employment reached 431,623 jobs in June, a 1.9% year-on-year increase. Industry contributed significantly, with 549 additional jobs and a 7.3% decrease in industrial unemployment.
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"It is particularly significant that industry is increasing employment by 3.1% year-on-year and reducing unemployment by 7.3%. This data indicates that there is capacity to continue strengthening Tenerife's industrial fabric, although we must also pay attention to the decrease in the number of companies and facilitate conditions for new business initiatives to consolidate."
The commerce sector also shows positive employment trends, with 68,624 people employed in June (1.5% more than in March) and a 5% reduction in quarterly unemployment. Passenger car registrations during the first semester increased by 11.1% in Tenerife, surpassing the decline recorded in the Canary Islands as a whole.
Construction has gained momentum, with a 2.8% increase in the number of companies (to 2,517) and a similar growth in employment (27,340 jobs). Cement sales rose by 9.9% year-on-year. The primary sector maintains slight business growth and a 7.9% decrease in unemployment, with a notable 54.3% increase in banana exports.
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"This data reflects that our economy does not depend on a single sector. We have strengths in commerce, industry, agriculture, and construction that we must continue to foster. From the Cabildo, we will continue promoting measures that favor investment, innovation, business modernization, and training, because improving productivity is key to facing this scenario of lower dynamism with confidence."
