By Maria Martinez 
 

Spain's unemployment rate fell slightly in the third quarter of 2021 thanks to an easing of coronavirus-related restrictions that allowed the recovery of the services sector.

The country's unemployment rate declined to 14.57% in the third quarter from 15.26% in the previous quarter, Spanish statistics office INE said Thursday. Jobless claims fell by 127,100 in the quarter to a total of 3.42 million unemployed.

Tens of thousands of firms in Spain have signed up for a temporary program by which the government partially subsidizes workers wages to avoid job losses. These workers aren't included in the unemployment figures. The program will finish at the end of September.

Employment registered an increase of 359,300 people in the third quarter, rising to a total of 20.03 million employed, INE said.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2021 03:14 ET (07:14 GMT)