Spain: Unemployment rate falls more than expected in Q4
The jobless rate fell from 14.6% in Q3 to 13.3% in the fourth quarter, amid a fast vaccine rollout. The figure came comfortably below market analysts’ expectations of a 14.2% unemployment rate and represented the lowest reading since Q3 2008, although it was marred by a decrease in labor force. In absolute terms, the number of unemployed workers stood at 3.1 million in Q4, down from Q3’s 3.4 million. That said, the figure doesn’t include those under temporary furlough schemes as effectively unemployed.
Jobs were added across almost most sectors of the economy in Q4. The agricultural sector added the most jobs (+78,700), followed by the services segment (+45,900) and the industrial (+37,100) sector, while the construction sector (-7,700) shed jobs. Overall, a total of 153,900 jobs were added from the prior quarter. For its part, the workforce dropped by 158,900 people in Q4 to a total of 23.3 million.