Spain’s unemployment rate fell below 20 percent in the third quarter, its first decline in three years as the service sector created jobs, the national statistics institute said Friday.
The jobless rate dipped to 19.79 percent in the July-September period, down from 20.09 percent in the previous three months, still the highest level in the 16-nation eurozone, it said in a statement.
Spain’s unemployment rate had risen steadily since it dipped to 7.95 percent in the second quarter of 2007, which was its lowest level since the country returned to democracy following the death of dictator Franscisco Franco in 1975. The increase was driven by the collapse of a labour intensive property boom. The high unemployment rate has added to the government’s social welfare bill as dole payments have soared at a time when it is seeking to slash a yawning public deficit that has rattled investors.
For more: Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan - Spain’s jobless rate drops for first time in three years
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