Summer hiring sees Spain's unemployment fall 29,841 in July

 

The tourist high season and summer substitutions mean that the month of July saw the number of unemployed people registered at Spain's employment offices fall by 29,841 people compared to the previous month, a drop of 0.67%. In total, 4.41 million people are signed up with the country's employment offices as out of work.

According to data published today by the Employment and Social Security Ministry, unemployment fell last month by 278,954 people compared to July 2013, a reduction in the ranks of Spain's out-of-work of 5.94%. As such, unemployment – as recorded by Spain's unemployment offices – has been coming down for 10 consecutive months. That improvement, however, is starting to slow down. And what's more, when seasonal factors are taken out of the figures – i.e. compensating for the spike in jobs on offer during the busy summer tourist season – the number of people registered unemployed actually rose in July, by 32,357 people.

July saw unemployment fall most in the construction sector (a drop of 2.56%), followed by industry (down 2.11%) and services (a reduction of 0.4%). As for the breakdown of ages, the youngest suffered most, with registered unemployed among the under 25s up 6,478 people in July (1.68%) compared to the previous month.

In terms of the number of people signed up with the Social Security system, the figure rose in July by 320,347 workers (up 1.95%) compared to the same month in 2013. That's the biggest rise seen in the seventh month of the year since 2007, and puts the total number at 16.74 million people, according to Employment Ministry figures. Compared to June, the number of people signed up with Social Security rose by 62,108 people (0.37%).

The secretary of state for Social Security, Tomás Burgos, said via a press release that "there are, without a doubt, seasonal factors in July that boost the number of people signed up, but that is an additional element within the context of recovery, that has already allowed for the return of 596,274 people to the system since the lowest point of the crisis."