Spain – First time unemployment is below 25% in two years

The unemployment rate in Spain has fallen below 25% for the first time in two years, thanks to the beginning of a revival in the economy.

An extra 402,000 people started work in the second quarter of the year, boosted by the seasonal upturn in tourism.

That helped to push the official jobless rate down to 24.5%, from 25.9% in the first three months of the year.

However the Spanish unemployment rate is still the second highest in Europe, with 5.6 million Spaniards out of work.

Strong figures

That compares to 17.4 million who are officially in work.

“These figures are much better than expected and while there’s an important seasonal element, seasonally adjusted figures are also strong,” said Jose Luis Martinez, economist at Citi in Madrid.

Seven years ago, unemployment in Spain stood at just 7% but then rose sharply to nearly 27%.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at  BBC News – Spanish jobless rate below 25% for the first time in two years.