Although Spain has had the highest unemployment rate in the European Community for over a decade, very little is known about the impact of unemployment on the health of the Spanish population. This paper analyses the health consequences of unemployment in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, using a sample of 4,119 respondents to the Health Survey of Barcelona in 1986. It is concluded that ill health is not caused by unemployment per se, but is better explained by a combination of individual and socio-economic stressors. Furthermore, for more than purely economic reasons, the availability of an unemployment subsidy appears to be the most important factor in ameliorating the stresses of unemployment.