ECONOMY

Government announces record fall in unemployed for April

Jobless figures down by 111,565, the best result for fourth month since statistical series began But 4,684,301 individuals still remain on the unemployment rolls

Álvaro Romero

Madrid - May 06, 2014 - 11:29CEST

The number of people registered as unemployed in Spain fell by 111,565 last month, making April the best on record, and the second-best monthly result in Spain’s democratic history, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Labor Ministry.

After this fall in the ranks of the jobless, there are 4,684,301 individuals still on the unemployment rolls.

The month saw more positive news, with 133,765 new workers signing up to the Social Security system, thanks chiefly to seasonal hirings in the tourism sector for the Easter vacation.

After seasonal adjustment is factored in for the Easter vacation, unemployment fell by just 50,202 people

After seasonal adjustment is factored in, unemployment fell by just 50,202 people. But this still remains the biggest fall in seasonally adjusted joblessness for the fourth month of the year. According to Labor Secretary Engracia Hidalgo, “seasonally adjusted unemployment fell for the ninth month in a row. Such a prolonged downward trend hadn’t been seen since 1999.”

The news comes a week after the National Statistics Office (INE) released its quarterly labor market figures, which are considered more reliable than the Labor Ministry’s as a gauge of the state of the job market. The INE’s own data showed that Spain is continuing to shed jobs, six years after the economic crisis began.

Recent forecasts issued by Brussels are also more prudent about the incipient Spanish recovery than those of the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, of the center-right Popular Party. The European Union recently said that recovery will not bring about significant job creation, leaving the unemployment rate at no less than 24 percent in 2015.

The Rajoy administration, however, claims that the rate will go down to 23.3 percent next year.

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