The unemployment level is still the second-highest in the eurozone after Greece, the starkest sign of the lingering damage from the economic crisis that erupted in 2008 after a building boom went bust.
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The jobless rate in Spain for the second quarter has fallen to the lowest levels in over three years.
It has raised its economic growth forecast for this year to 3.3 percent – more than twice the 1.5 percent average rate forecast by Brussels for the eurozone.
“Employment growth in the second quarter was sharper than expected, which suggests the recovery is taking a firmer grip on the economy”, said Raj Badiani, an economist at IHS Global Insight.
Spain’s jobless rate is still the second highest in the EU after that of Greece. Gross domestic product grew 0.9 per cent in the first quarter this year compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, and by 2.7 per cent on the year, largely driven by internal demand.
The ruling conservative hopes the recovery can stem its drop in popularity in time for general elections to be held by the end of year.
Spain’s INE national statistics bureau said on Thursday that the number of people in Spain without jobs fell by 295,600 in the quarter to 5.15 million, or 22.4 per cent of the workforce, the lowest rate since the third quarter of 2011.
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“This is not the time to undo reforms”, he said.
