SPAIN’S annual unemployment rate fell by 6.2% in April to 2,357,044- according to figures published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Labour.
It was the first time that the monthly jobless total has dipped below 2.4 million since June 2008.
Meanwhile, last month’s Social Security affiliations rose by 223,685 to surpass 22 million for the very first time.
READ MORE:
The hotel and catering sectors was the main driver of employment, responsible for 115,284 affiliations (54% of the total), due to the hiring for the Easter holiday period.
That was followed by administrative and auxiliary activities (+16,620) and wholesale and retail trade (+14,920).
Social Security Minister, Elma Saiz said: “We have been adding half a million affiliates a year for four years in a row.”
“It is a very positive figure with the affiliation of foreigners continuing to set a record, which is close to 3,250,000,” she added.
Registered self-employed workers reached a record number of over 3.4 million affiliations.
That is a 15,439 increase on the previous month and a gain of 42,775 over the last year.
Compared to March, there were 46,156 or 2.6% fewer unemployed in the service sector including hospitality, 3,603 or 2.2% less in construction, and 3,680 or 2% in industry.
Female unemployment stood at 1,424,426, with a monthly decline of 2.3% and an annual decrease of 6%.
Male unemployment was at 932,618, falling 2.9% compared to March and 6.5% compared to April 2025.
Youth unemployment also improved considerably when it fell below the barrier of 170,000 people aged under 25 years for the first time.
After a comparatively poor start for job totals in January and February, reductions started to kick in during March.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
