Spanish April jobless claims rose at their slowest rate in nine months and consumer confidence hit a year high, data showed today, prompting the government to say the worst of Spain's economic crisis could be over.
April's job losses were a third of those seen in March as an €8 billion public works plan kicked in and consumer confidence rose for the third month running, official data showed.
“The measures we have put in place have begun to bear fruit, we could already be seeing the impact of the crisis wearing off,” Economy Minister Elena Salgado told reporters.
But Spain's recession is still expected to last longer than that of any other European Union member, with the European Commission forecasting a 3.2 per cent contraction of gross domestic product in 2009 and shrinking 1 per cent in 2010.
Spain's economy shed 39,478 workers last month, down from monthly losses of over 100,000 since September, but the government was careful not to claim a job market recovery after what was still the worst April jobless result on record.
“You still can't talk of a turning point in the jobs market” said Employment Secretary General Maravillas Rojo.
Analysts warned dole queues would only be shortened temporarily by local governments dishing out an estimated 400,000 jobs on infrastructure construction work.
"The public works contracts are short term. We'll see less people losing their work for two or three more months, but once the works end, jobless will rise again," said Ibersecurities analyst Juan Rodriguez Rey.
The figures were also helped by the Easter holidays - a time of high temporary restaurant and hotel employment - which fell in April this year.
Reuters