The number of people in Spain registering as jobless fell to its lowest level in eight years in June, official data showed today, as an economic recovery consolidates after years of recession.
Labour Ministry data showed the figure fell by 2.84% in June from a month earlier, or by 98,317 people, leaving 3.36 million people out of work.
Spain's economy fell into a five-year downward spiral in 2008 after a burst property bubble hit economic activity, pushing the unemployment rate up to a high of 27%.
Labour Ministry figures showed Spain has clawed back 2.28 million of the jobs destroyed during the economic crisis, or about 68.2%.
The unemployment rate - calculated through a National Statistics Institute poll rather than the number of people registering as out of work - stood at 18.75% in the first quarter.
The government expects that rate to drop to 11.1% by 2020.
The number of people paying in to the social security system as workers rose 0.48%, or 87,692 people, to 18.43 million people, the ministry said.
In seasonally adjusted terms, registered unemployed fell by 21,668 people in June from a month earlier.
In a sector breakdown, services saw a 3.2% drop in unemployed, or 75,101 people, boosted by a strong hotel industry as the busy tourism season gears up for the summer.
Industry saw a 3.18% fall in registered unemployed while construction was down 3.09%.
But registered unemployment rose in the agriculture sector by 4.49% due to a severe drought, the data showed.
