Spanish unemployment increased for the second month in a row in September despite some signs of recovery in the economy.
The number of unemployed increased 1.2% month-on-month in September to 4,017,763, data released by the Labor Ministry showed Monday. It was slightly less than the 1.6% increase in August that took the total figure to 3,969,661. Joblessness had declined steadily since April.
The unemployment rose by 48,102 persons from the previous month. Year-on-year, the increase was 8.3% or 308,316 persons. In the same month last year, the country saw unemployment rise by 80,367 from the previous month to 3,709,447.
The Secretary General for Employment Maravillas Rojo noted that the Spanish economy is starting to show some signs of improvement. However, that is yet to be reflected in the recovery of employment, which requires a long period of sustained growth, she added. Spain's economy grew 0.2% between April and June, after exiting its worst recession for decades in the March quarter.
Unemployment declined 1.3% in construction, while it fell 0.9% in industry and 2.9% in agriculture during September. The figure rose 2.3% in services.
The ministry official pointed out that the data shows a marked seasonal variation, since the increase in registered unemployment affected only the services sector, while there was a decline in the rest.
Spain had the highest jobless rate of 20.5% in the euro area in August, according to Eurostat. The euro area unemployment rate continued to stay at a 12-year high of 10.1% in August as the region's economy started to cool, reflecting slowing trends in global economy. Official figures suggest large disparities in unemployment figures among core and peripheral economies of the single currency bloc.
Last week, ratings agency Moody's downgraded Spain's sovereign bond rating by one notch to Aa1 from its top rating of 'AAA.' The agency cited a worsening financial situation and weak economic prospects for the action. The move came a day after Spanish unions held their first general strike in eight years in protest against the government's austerity measures and labor reforms, bringing major cities to a standstill.
A real estate sector collapse triggered Spain's worst recession in decades, while inflexible labor laws led to the doubling of the country's unemployment rate to over 20% in just three years. Over the next few years, the Spanish economy is likely to grow only by about 1% annually on average, Moody's said. Business conditions at Spanish manufacturing companies deteriorated for the first time in seven months, a survey by Markit Economics showed last week.
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