Madrid (AFP) – Spanish unemployment fell last year to its lowest level since the 2008 global financial crisis as the tourism-driven service sector performed strongly, official data showed on Tuesday. The jobless rate in the European Union’s fourth-largest economy at the end of 2024 was 10.61 percent, down from 11.76 percent the previous year, the National Statistics Institute said.
A buoyant economy added 468,100 jobs in the last 12 months to reach a total of 21.8 million, the highest level ever registered. A dynamic service sector slashed unemployment by 100,000 during 2024, a year in which the world’s second most-visited country received a record 94 million tourists. The key sector represents around 13 percent of an economy which is clocking growth rates far outstripping its EU peers, providing vital political capital for the minority left-wing government.
“Fewer women out of work, less temporary work and more quality employment,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez celebrated on X. The Bank of Spain has predicted growth of 3.1 percent for 2024, in contrast with the 0.8 percent forecast for the eurozone by the European Central Bank.
The 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of a housing market bubble triggered soaring unemployment that peaked at around 27 percent in early 2013. Spain’s recovery then suffered the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic that drove joblessness above 16 percent before bouncing back with the return of international travel and labour reforms.
Yet the unemployment figures remain one of the highest in the eurozone. The government aims to bring it down to around eight percent by 2027, which it says represents full employment in Spain.
© 2024 AFP
