(Reuters) – Spain’s jobless rate inched up in January from the month before, but still held at the lowest level for the time of year – when seasonal work typically drops off after the Christmas holiday – in 17 years.
The Labour Ministry said on Tuesday the number of people registering as unemployed rose 1.51% in January from a month earlier, or by 38,725 people, leaving 2.60 million people out of work – 6.08% fewer than in January 2024.
Spain lost 242,000 net formal jobs during January to an average 21.1 million jobs, though the country gained 491,000 net jobs from January 2024, a separate report from the Social Security Ministry showed.
As the Spanish economy expanded at a much faster pace than its neighbours, the unemployment rate, released every quarter, has been continuously sliding over the past years to 10.61% in the fourth quarter, the lowest level since 2008.
(Reporting by Joao Manuel Mauricio in Gdansk, editing by Inti Landauro and Jan Harvey)
