MADRID: Spain’s unemployment rate edged up slightly in the third quarter of this year after declining steadily since the end of 2020, official data showed Thursday.

The jobless rate inched up to 12.67 percent in the period from July to September from 12.48 percent in the previous three-month period, national statistics institute INE said in a statement.

The number of unemployed people rose by 60,800 in the third quarter to a total of 2.98 million, with most jobs lost in services, including Spain’s key tourism sector, and agriculture.

The jobless rate was still lower than during the same period a year ago when it stood at 14.57 percent.

The number of job seekers in Spain fell below three million in May for the first time since November 2008 at the start of the global financial crisis.

The fall in joblessness was due to a rebound in Spain’s tourism sector following the end of most pandemic travel restrictions and a labour market reform which limits the back-to-back use of temporary contracts.

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The number of permanent contracts in Spain in the third quarter rose by 444,200.

Among Western economies, Spain was one of the worst-hit by the economic fallout of the pandemic, with its gross domestic product collapsing by 10.8 percent in 2020, largely due to its heavy dependence on tourism.