Public works programme helps fall in Spain jobless
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 @ 12:52 AM
A huge public works programme in Spain slowed further layoffs in the beleaguered construction sector and helped unemployment claims to fall for the third straight month, the government said on Tuesday.
The number of jobless fell 20,794 in July after a 55,250 decline in June, cutting the total number of unemployment benefit claimants to 3.54 million, still the highest among much larger European economies such as Germany.
Registered jobless in the construction industry, paralysed by a punctured housing bubble, fell by 7,282, or 1.1 percent, while industry saw jobless drop by 6,911 people, or 1.4 percent.
The number of jobless in the service sector fell by 13,885 people, or 0.7 percent, as the vacation period moved in to full swing and holiday spots hired to run restaurants and hotels.
'No one can deny the seasonal effect, but it obvious too that job destruction in construction and industry is much less than it was,' said Secretary of State for Social Security Octavio Granados during a radio interview.
Read the full story at Forbes.com