SPAIN-ECONOMY/UNEMPLOYMENT Spain jobless rate falls to lowest in three years

Record ID: 149342

  • Title: SPAIN-ECONOMY/UNEMPLOYMENT Spain jobless rate falls to lowest in three years
  • Date: 23rd July 2015
  • Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE QUEUING OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT OFFICE WOMAN HOLDING A FILE QUEUE AT EMPLOYMENT OFFICE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ENTERING EMPLOYMENT OFFICE
  • Embargoed: 7th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Spain
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACZW2XNYW3W5W7BMBBQCABRX00
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Spain's jobless rate dropped to its lowest level in over three years in the second quarter, offering a boost to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as he seeks to persuade voters that an economic recovery is taking root.
    At 22.4 percent, the unemployment rate is still higher than anywhere else in Europe bar crisis-hit Greece.
    The rate hasn't dipped below a fifth of the workforce in five years, even after Spain exited recession in mid-2013.
    But it is now slightly lower than when Spaniards last voted in a general election, at the end of 2011, helping Rajoy deliver on a pledge to end his term with fewer jobless.
    "Never in Spain's economic history has so much employment been created in a quarter. The survey of the second quarter of this year shows excellent results with strong job creation and reduction in unemployment." Rajoy said at an event in Madrid on Thursday.
    With voters set to head for the polls again by the end of this year, he is banking on an economic turnaround to win again.
    But unpopular austerity measures in recent years as well as corruption scandals have hurt his party's standing.
    Close to 412,000 jobs were created in the April-June period as summer hiring in the services industry got underway.
    Although the jobless rate was down from 23.8 percent in the first three months of this year, many Spaniards say they are yet to feel the benefits of this recovery.
    Wages have dropped, and even as more jobs are created, many are temporary and precarious.
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