Spain’s jobless rate falls as tourism picks up

Spain’s unemployment rate fell in the third quarter as the relaxation of pandemic restrictions allowed a recovery in its key tourism sector, official statistics showed Thursday.

The jobless rate declined to 14.57 percent in the July-September period from 15.26 percent in the previous quarter, national statistics office INE said.

The unemployment rate remains above the 13.78 percent rate recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019 before the pandemic hit Spain.

The INE jobless figures are based on surveys, which provide a more reliable indication of unemployment as many people who jobless are not eligible for benefits.

The bulk of the new jobs, 377,200, were created in the service sector which is dominated by tourism.

The industrial sector added 63,000 jobs while agriculture shed 49,600 posts.

Before the pandemic hit in spring 2020, Spain was the world’s second-most popular tourist destination after France, and the sector accounted for around 12 percent of the economy.

The Spanish government has said it was hoping to attract around 45 million tourist visits this year, approximately half the figure for 2019.

The Spanish economy contracted by 10.8 percent in 2020, one of the worst results among industrialised countries, but it returned to growth in the second quarter this year.

The statistics office is set to release gross domestic product data for the third quarter on Friday.