Unemployment falls as Spanish economy starts to warm up
JOBLESSNESS fell in Spain in the past three months, official figures showed yesterday, as the economic recovery started to be felt in earnest.
Unemployment dropped from 25.2 per cent in the first quarter to 24.7 per cent in the second quarter – its lowest rate in more than two years.
The drop was also faster than expected, and driven by private sector hiring.
“Improving net employment has become the driver of the drop in the unemployment rate in the second quarter,” said Barclays economist Antonio Garcia Pascual.
“This is in contrast to previous quarters when an important factor reducing the unemployment rate has been a falling participation rate on the back of significant net migration outflows.”
However, youth unemployment remains at above 50 per cent, illustrating the scale of the challenge faced before the economy returns to normal.