Spain ends 2018 with biggest surge in job creation of the last 12 years

The year 2018 was a positive one for jobs in Spain. That is five good years in a row, and the best on record since 2006, before the economic crisis hit.

The Spanish economy created 566,200 positions last year, a figure unmatched in the last 12 years. This brings the total number of people in employment to 19.56 million, according to the workforce survey released on Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Employment grew at a rate of 2.98% in the last three months of 2018

Job creation in the last quarter of 2018 fell exclusively to the public sector, which offered 43,400 new positions, while the private sector shed 6,900 jobs. But both sectors improved on their late 2017 figures.

On the unemployment front, 2018 has also brought good news. The number of job seekers dropped by 21,700 in the last quarter and by 462,400 for the year as a whole.

As a result, the number of people without a job stands at 3.3 million, leaving the unemployment rate at 14.45%. This is two points lower than in late 2017, and the lowest figure since late 2008.

Employment grew at a rate of 2.98% in the last three months of 2018, the fastest pace since the first quarter of 2016. The news comes amid warnings of an upcoming slowdown in the global economy that will also affect Spain.

The workforce has grown as well, and there are now 22.87 million people either in employment or looking for a job.

English version by Susana Urra.