Lleida ended 2025 with an 11.2% labor underutilization rate—its lowest in 18 years—across an expanded active population of 244,802.
That still left 27,522 people not fully used in the labor market, including more than 12,000 unemployed and 7,648 part-time workers seeking longer hours.
Part-time work remained a key drag: 28,600 people held contracts below 40 hours a week, and nearly 27% wanted to increase their hours.
Young people, women, foreigners and lower-educated workers were hit hardest, especially in agriculture, services, commerce and hospitality, where temporary and reduced-hour jobs are more common.
Lleida still outperformed Catalonia's 14.4% underutilization rate, but experts say skills mismatches help explain why vacancies remain open while many workers cannot secure enough hours or stable jobs.