Spain: less than three million unemployed for the first time since 2008

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, May 24, 2022. AP - Markus Schreiber

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The socialist government of Pedro Sánchez is over the moon: unemployment figures have never been so good since 2008 in Spain.

For the first time in 14 years, the number of unemployed fell below three million.

One hundred thousand unemployed found work in May.

Another satisfaction, the significant increase in permanent contracts.

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With our correspondent in Madrid,

Neither the horrors of the pandemic, nor the impact of rising fuel prices linked to the war in Ukraine;

none of this could have affected the employment situation in Spain.

A situation that is improving and which, according to economists, points to a robust recovery in the economy.

We are indeed hiring vigorously, mainly in services, and to a lesser extent in agriculture, industry and construction.

The government of Pedro Sánchez is delighted with this and sees in it the effect of its labor market reform, which came into force last December.

This reform emphasizes the fight against precariousness.

In fact, what characterizes new hires is the growing number of permanent contracts.

They represented barely a third of the total last year, today they correspond to almost half.

One caveat, however: the Spanish unemployment rate, at 13%, remains one of the highest in the EU, as does the job insecurity rate, around 24%.

It therefore remains to progress further but, weakened on other fronts, the Socialists in power can at least be proud of a better employment situation.

►Also listen: Is bread in danger of becoming a luxury product in Spain?

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