Spain's unemployment rises amid new COVID outbreaks

MADRID: The number of registered unemployed people in Spain rose in August as new outbreaks of the coronavirus and travel restrictions imposed by other countries began taking a toll after months of timid recovery from an initial lockdown. The number of jobless people rose by 0.79% in August, pushing up the national total to 3.80 million and ending a positive trend that began in May when Spain began emerging from one of Europe's strictest coronavirus lockdowns.

The heavily tourism-dependent Balearic Islands were the hardest hit region, registering a 3% rise in unemployment. The pace of job creation in Spain stagnated in August, with only 6,822 more people with a formal working contract and contributing to social security in that month, compared to an increase of 161,000 in July, the social security minister said. Overall, Spain had about 740,000 more jobless people in August than in the same month a year ago. The lockdown prompted by the coronavirus erased some 900,000 jobs in March alone.