MADRID: The number of registered jobless in Spain posted a record drop in 2021 as the relaxation of pandemic restrictions boosted its key tourism sector, official statistics showed Tuesday.

The number of people registered as being out of work dropped by 782,232 last year over 2020 to stand at 3.1 million at the end of December, the labour ministry said.

That is the biggest drop since the current statistical series began in 1996 and the lowest number of jobless in the month of December since 2007, it added.

The number of registered jobless fell by 2.4 percent, or 76,782 people, in December from November -- the 10th consecutive month of falling unemployment figures.

"The date once again reflects the progress of Spain's recovery," Socialist Prime minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted.

Spain's tourism-dependent economy contracted by 10.8 percent in 2020, one of the worst results among industrialised countries.

But the eurozone's fourth-largest economy returned to growth in the second quarter of this year as global tourism picked up.

Before the pandemic hit in spring 2020, Spain was the world's second-most popular tourist destination after France, and the sector accounted for around 12 percent of the economy.

Spain welcomed 28.2 million foreign tourists during the first 11 months of the year, 9.9 million more than in the previous year, national statistics institute INE said Tuesday.

The Spanish government had hoped to attract around 45 million tourist visits in 2021, approximately half the figure for 2019 before the pandemic hit.