Spanish labour market hits a new record: less than four million jobless for the first time since 2008, according to the Q2 Labour Force Survey. Figures of unemployment dropped by 340,000 between April and June to 3,914,300 people, reaching a rate of 17.22%. Employment grows by 375,000 new jobs; working population increases to 18.81 million.
Despite the positive evolution of unemplyment figures, they stand very far from those of 2007. Indeed in the summer of nine years ago, Spain only registered 1.5 million of unemployed, while the unemployment rate was around 7.9%.
As usual in the last years, positive data are mainly grounded in the very seasonal services sector, while temporary jobs rise even by 1% more against previous survey to 27%. As regards public employment, despite it seems be more stable, is also quite stagnated: it grows just by 0.3%, which leave the labour market recovery in the hands of the private sector.
Nevertheless, most of 375,000 new contracts signed during the second quarter of present year were full-time and working population grew in all sectors except in agriculture. Furthermore, self-employment figures did not improve -just 23,800 new jobs were added.
It is also noticeable that households with all their members unemployed decreased by 117,100 totalling 1,2 million of families, their lowest level since 4Q2009.
