Number of jobless falls in Spain for first time since September

Jobless claims fell by 1.48% in March from a month earlier, or by 59,149 people, leaving 3.95 million people out of work, data from the Labour Ministry showed.

"Our country is still going through a very tough time, but this reduction in unemployment is a positive sign," Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz tweeted.

Unemployment had been climbing steadily since September, and rose above four million people for the first time in five years in February, as curbs on movement and business opening hours hobbled the flagging labour market.

In seasonally adjusted terms, some 45,438 jobs were lost in March - around half in the agriculture sector - marking the second straight month of net job destruction.

After a year of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain's economy is feeling the strain, with 401,000 more people out of work since the first restrictions were introduced last March.

Nearly 750,000 people are being supported by the government's ERTE furlough scheme.