Spain's jobless rate fell by 1.5 percent in April as the service sector was boosted by seasonal hiring over Easter, but still left 4.27 million people registered as without work. Official data from the Labour Ministry showed the number out of work fell by 64,309 people in April, the biggest fall in that month since 2006.
No percentage figure is given alongside the data from the ministry, but figures last week from the National Statistics Institute showed the unemployment rate rose to 21.3 percent in the first quarter of the year, more than double the eurozone average. The data showed an improvement in the jobless figures across all sectors, with a fall in the dominant services sector of 1.9 percent, accounting for a fall of close to 50,000 people. The data is usually favourable over the Easter period as firms hire more people to cover a busy period for tourism. "The data point to a gradual stabilisation in the labour market even if it's still at an early stage and we're a long way off sustained job creation," said Nick Matthews, economist at RBS.
A purchasing managers' survey released Wednesday showed Spain's services sector grew slightly in April after contracting in March but a fall in new business indicated that the economic recovery was still weak. The unemployment data also showed a fall in the jobless rate of 2.8 percent in the badly hit construction sector, still reeling from the effects of a property market collapse from late 2007 heading into 2008.