The unemployment rate in Spain edged down by the close of the year, giving relief to a great many.
On Wednesday the employment ministry said the number of people without paid work fell by nearly 400,000 during the course of 2016, bringing the total to 3.7 million by the end.
This 9.5% drop in 2016 was the largest since the late 1990s and also the fourth year in a row that the numbers have come down.
The official percentage rate is expected to be published later this month by Spain’s statistics agency, but by September last year the rate had dipped to 19%, down from 26% in 2013.
Jobs were created in all sectors of the economy, particularly in the revitalising construction industry and the service sector which benefitted from the bumper year for tourists.
But there was concern and criticism over the nature of the work being created. According to the data, 18.3 million temporary contracts were signed over the course of 2016, compared with just 1.7 million permanent contracts.
One of the country’s most influential trade unions, the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), criticised the temporary and precarious nature of most of the new jobs. "Economic and social inequalities continue to increase," it said in a statement.
The Spanish economy is expected to outperform the rest of the eurozone, with growth predicted at 3%.
