Jobless rate falls for second month

5 April 2004

MADRID- Spain’s official unemployment rate in March was 9.18 percent, the Employment Ministry reported Monday.

The March 2004 jobless rate was 0.12 percent below the same month last year.

The number of people out of work in March fell by 8,188 to slightly more than 1.74 million.

It was the second month running that unemployment had fallen.

In addition, 1,420,641 job contracts were signed in March, a 25.9 percent increase relative to the same month last year.

Of those, contracts with no expiration date totaled 144,848, or 25 percent above the March 2003 figure.

This type of contract are difficult to get in Spain as many employers want to give workers short-term contracts.

The jobless rate fell 1 percent (10,501 people) in the service sector, 0.40 percent (816 people) in construction, 0.20 percent (722) in industry and 0.50 percent (238) in agriculture.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news