Spain posted a record drop in registered unemployment in April, as the economic resurgence gathered momentum.

Jobless claims fell by 351,285 over the past 12 months, with 118,923 fewer people registered as out of work in April alone, the Spanish Labour Ministry said Tuesday. On a seasonally adjusted basis, unemployment fell by 50,160 on the month.

Despite the pick-up in hiring, there are still 4.3 million people out of work as Spain gears up for a general election due at the end of the year. Pegging his re-election hopes to the health of the labor market, prime minister Mariano Rajoy has pledged to create more than 600,000 new jobs in 2015. The Spanish economy grew at the fastest pace since 2007 in the first quarter and the government expects output to continue expanding at about 3 per cent over the next three years.

Deputy labour minister Engracia Hidalgo said in an e-mailed statement that the data show the “solid and positive” trend in unemployment is consolidating. The number of people without work fell across all sectors and in every region.

Bloomberg