According to latest data released by the Labor Ministry, Spain witnessed the biggest fall in jobless claims in the past 16 years. The number of people in Spain seeking jobless benefits fell to 4.45 million, which is the largest annual fall since 1998.
Month on month data too gave reasons to cheer with a fall of 64,405 in jobless claims in December 2014 as compared to the previous month. Overall, the number of jobless claims has come down by 253,627 in the entire year of 2014.
The number of jobless claims, after being adjusted for seasonal factors, has fallen for the fifth consecutive month in 2014. Experts are contributing this fall to steady job creation combined with outflow of working-age Spaniards to other countries. Although emigration has fallen significantly, it was still high enough to result in a significant boost to the overall outlook of the country’s labor market.
Spain’s economy has been on the mend after being battered by two recessions between 2008 and 20013. The country emerged out of the latest recession in the second half of 2013 and has been showing slow but steady progress on all fronts. The last quarter of 2014 saw the country’s GDP rising by 0.5%.
Source: www.nasdaq.com