Spain registers highest ever May increase in unemployment

SPAIN has seen its highest ever increase in unemployment for the month of May.

The number of people registered as out of work went up by 26,573, or 0.69 per cent more than in the previous month, according to Employment and Social Economy Ministry figures released on Tuesday.

In relation to May last year, the increase is a whopping 25.27 per cent, or 778,285 workers.

The country’s unemployment total now stands at 3,857,776, the highest number since May 2016.

Bad as the news is, last month’s rise in the jobless total was 10 times smaller than in April and 11 times lower than in March.

In April 282,891 people lost their jobs, while for March, the same month the coronavirus crisis forced the whole of Spain into lockdown, the figure was 302,265.

The jobless totals for all three months do not include workers whose jobs have been temporarily suspended or their hours reduced under ERTEs.

Also on the positive side, by the end of May there were 18,584,176 people registered to pay Social Security, 187,814 more than at the beginning of the month. This compares with drops of 49,074 in April and 833,979 the month before.

The service sector was the worst hit for job losses last month, with 40,784 workers finding themselves on the dole. By contrast, unemployment went down in the construction sector, with 23,717 less workers out of a job.

By region, Catalonia saw the biggest increase in people out or work (15,339), followed by Madrid (14,336), and the Canary Islands (6,093).

But in some regions of the country employment actually went down in May. Andalucia was one of them, the month ending with 9,210 less jobless.