MADRID, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of people registered as unemployed in Spain rose by 54,371 to 3,065,804, according to the monthly unemployment figures published by the Spanish Ministry of Labor, Migrations and Social Security on Tuesday.
The 1.18 percent rise in unemployment represents the biggest August growth in the number of people out of work in nine years and is accompanied by a reduction of 212,984 in the number of people contributing to the social security system -- which is the worst August fall since the start of the economic crisis in 2008.
The positive news is that over the past 12 months the total number of people out of work has fallen by 116,264 and the August unemployment figure of 3,065,804 is the lowest for the month in the past decade.
August is traditionally a bad month for job losses in Spain as the holiday season comes to an end and hits the service sector especially hard. That is highlighted by the fact 2018 saw the loss of 47,047 jobs during the month.
The seasonality of the job market is shown by the fact that the highest job losses were in the Comunidad Valencia (3.75 percent), Catalonia (3.51 percent) and the Region of Murcia (3.34 percent) (all eastern Spain) and the Balearic Islands (3.56 percent), which are among the most important holiday destinations in the country.
Unemployment increased in other sectors, with the loss of 7,756 jobs in industry and 11,365 in construction, although the agricultural sector saw the creation of 6,655 positions, although most of these are of a temporary and seasonal nature.
