Employment rises in Spain for second month

The number of people registered on the Social Security database increased by 81,447 people in April 2011, marking the second month of recovery after eight consecutive months of increasing unemployment in Spain. The hotel industry led the growth, with over 52,003 more people registered during April (+5.68%), followed by health and social services activities, with 12,652 (+0.89%), administrative activities, with 7,558 more employed (+0.71%) and transport, with 2,949 (+0.48%). The only sectors with losses were manufacturing, losing 6,047 people (-0.34%) and construction with 13,409 less (-1.32%). The average number of foreign affiliates also rose in April, with 26,542 people, representing a total of 1,803,980 foreigners working in Spain. The largest increase occurred in the Balearics, where Social Security numbers grew by 6.3% compared to March, with 23,595 more employed, well ahead of other regions such as Andalusia (+0.81%), Navarra (+0.63%) and Murcia (+0.62%). The Canaries saw an annual increase of 0.97% compared to 2010.