Spain’s unemployment increased unexpectedly in July, but the overall number of unemployed people remained the lowest for the month since 2007, figures from the Labour Ministry revealed on Tuesday.
The number of unemployed increased 19,517 in July from the previous month, confounding expectations for a decline of 18,400.
Registered unemployment totalled 2.31 million, the lowest for July since 2007. Compared to last year, unemployment decreased 93,107 or 3.87 percent in July.
Data showed that registered unemployment rose by 8,221 in the service sector and by 2,433 in construction. In industry, unemployment grew 473 and by 122 in the farm sector.
Unemployment among young people aged below 25 fell by 238 in July compared to the previous month. Unemployment totalled 159,562, the lowest figure in the historical record.