People wait outside an employment office in Ibiza.

People wait outside an employment office in Ibiza. | DE

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma02/06/2016 00:00
TW
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Unemployment in the Balearics at the end of May was just under 50,000. It was down by 15% over May 2015 and by almost 15% over April this year. On both indicators, the percentage reductions in the islands' unemployment are the largest for all regions of Spain.

The actual number of people coming off the unemployment register was 8,455 compared with April and 8,846 in comparison with May 2015. There were higher actual numbers coming off the register in Andalusia (over 21,000 fewer), Catalonia and Madrid.

National unemployment fell by nearly 120,000 last month and dipped below four million for the first time since August 2010: there were 3,891,403 registered unemployed last month. The reduction was the highest for a May since current records began in 1996.

Over the past twelve months unemployment has fallen by more than 323,000, giving an annual rate of reduction of 7.7%. Youth unemployment has fallen by 12.4%.  

The unemployment figures will give the acting prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, a boost going into the June general election. Nevertheless, Spain's unemployment is still the second highest in the Eurozone after Greece's. It is down from the peak of 26.9% in early 2013, but stands at 21%.

A political analyst has suggested that if the campaign for the upcoming election is to mean anything, then the jobs' numbers are significant, as employment is about the only issue the governing Partido Popular has to campaign on.