MADRID: The number of registered jobless in Spain jumped by nearly 23 percent in 2020, with the country suffering one of the hardest economic blows from the coronavirus pandemic, government figures showed Tuesday. By the year’s end, the number of people out of work had risen by 724,532 from the figure a year earlier to 3,888,137, labour ministry data showed.

In December alone, an extra 36,825 people registered as unemployed. At the height of the pandemic in March and April, that figure stood at nearly 600,000 people.

By the end of 2020, the number of people still on furlough stood at 755,000, official figures showed with the government scheme set to remain in place until the end of January. A total of 360,000 jobs were destroyed during the course of 2020 when the number of people making social security contributions is taken into account.