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Jobless fall for third month running

4 May 2004

MADRID – The number of people out of work fell by 38,530 last month, the Institute of Employment said Tuesday.

The latest figures represent a 2.2 percent decrease in the number of unemployed compared with the month before.

The total number of people out of work now stands at 1,705,176.

It is the third consecutive fall in the number of jobless since February, ministry officials said.

But the fall is less than in April 2003, when 61,620 fewer people were claiming unemployment benefits.

In April, jobless figures fell in all major sectors especially in services (down 29,030), major industry (3,772), building (2,656) and agriculture (790).

The fall in unemployment benefited women as much as men.

Across Spain, the only place where there was a rise in unemployment was in the Canary Islands with 2,594 more people out of work.

Elsewhere, there was a fall in all the provinces across Spain.

The latest economic forecasts showed the Spanish economy had grown by 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2004.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news