Spain’s jobless rate at 21% as election looms

Spanish unemployment rose for the first time in a year as the country gears up for a new election after four months of talks to form a coalition collapsed.

The jobless rate increased to 21% in the first quarter, as the number of Spaniards without a job rose by 11,900 to 4.8m in what is typically a challenging quarter given the labour market’s seasonal dynamics, which sees firms shedding staff as tourist activity drops.

Despite yesterday’s data, the Spanish economy has added 574,800 new jobs over the past 12 months as the recovery gained momentum.