Unemployment rises in Spain

Madrid, April 4 (IANS/EFE) The number of people in Spain without jobs grew by 38,769 last month to more than 4.75 million, the Employment and Social Security Ministry said Tuesday.

It was the eighth consecutive month of rising unemployment and the total of idle workers increased by 9.63 percent in the 12 months ending March 31.

Joblessness rose last month in all economic sectors. The largest drop, 2.99 percent, came in construction, while unemployment among first-time job-seekers climbed 2.84 percent.

The figures issued Tuesday refer to unemployed people who are officially registered with government employment offices.

The latest workforce survey, issued at the end of January, showed a record 5.27 million Spanish residents out of work, translating into an unemployment rate of 22.85 percent.

Eurostat, the statistics agency of the European Union, said Monday that Spain's jobless rate is now 23.6 percent, the highest in the 27-nation bloc and more than double the EU median of 10.2 percent.

Registrations with the Social Security system increased by 0.03 percent in March to 16.9 million after seven straight months of declines, the ministry said, though the total is still down 2.82 percent from the level a year ago.

--IANS/EFE

rd