News

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits in Spain rose by 82,132 in February, making for a total of 4.13 million, government figures showed Tuesday as the country continued to suffer the effects of the economic crisis.

It was the seventh consecutive monthly increase following a drop in claims for three straight months over the summer period.

But the Labor Ministry noted that the increase was nearly half that of 154,058 posted in February 2008, evidence that the country is beginning to emerge from the crisis, it said.

The increase on a year-on-year basis was 648,766, the ministry said.

Once Europe''s leading job producer, Spain has plummeted over the past two years and now has Europe''s highest unemployment rate, at 18.8 percent, owing to the collapse of its key construction industry and the impact of the international financial crisis.