Record April fall for Spanish unemployment

April saw the sharpest fall for the month on record in Spain’s crippling unemployment, by 2.7% , with nearly 119,000 people finding jobs.

Services took nearly two thirds of the growth, while the construction and industry sectors were also hiring.

However the unemployment rate still stood at 23.8% for the first quarter.

The number of people paying into the social security system also rose by its highest monthly figure, to a shade under 17 million.

The figures appear to confirm Spain’s strengthening growth, the fastest in the EU, which the government claims will create two million jobs by 2018.