Spanish government figures show that the number of people registered as unemployed has risen by 113,097 as temporary job contracts created over Christmas come to an end, AP reported.
On 4 February, the Labor Ministry said the reduction put the total number of those registered in unemployment offices at 4.81 million in January. Year-on-year, the figure was down 166,343.
Quarterly unemployment surveys - seen as more accurate by economists - show Spain’s unemployment rate was 26% in the fourth quarter of 2013, with six million people out of work. The rate is the second highest in the 28-country European Union after Greece.
Spain is battling to recover from a two-year recession. However, the government insists the economy is improving and will create jobs in 2014. Almost 100,000 people were laid off from the services sector, while employment also fell in agriculture, by 8,110 people and in industry, by 3,577.
“This month’s figure remains significantly better than previous years, considering that in the last five years registered joblessness has risen by an average of 544,000 people on an annual basis,” Spain’s Employment Secretary Engracia Hidalgo said.
The Spanish economy emerged from a two-year recession in the second half of last year, prompting many economists to raise their economic forecasts and the government to forecast net job creation for 2014. But for many Spaniards, making ends meet remains a constant struggle. Jobs are scarce and, when they do become available, wages are often low.
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