Spain’s Q1 unemployment rate rises to one-year high

Spain’s rate of unemployment was reported to have risen to its highest level since Q1 2023 in the first quarter of 2024.

The unemployment rate came in at 12.29%, up from 11.8% in Q4 of 2023 and exceeding market consensus of 11.8%.

In the latest quarter, the number of unemployed persons rose by 117,000 over the prior three-month period to reach 2.978 million.

Meanwhile, the number of employed persons in the country decreased by 139,700 to 21.250 million in Q1, data by the National Statistics Institute showed.

Spain’s labor force participation rate was reported at 58.63% in the first quarter, down from 58.84% in the preceding three-month period.

The Euro was little changed on the day against the US Dollar, with the EUR/USD currency pair last trading at 1.0733.

The major Forex pair has rebounded from a 5 1/2-month low of 1.0601, which it registered on April 16th.

Market players are now expecting the key US PCE inflation figures, due to be released later in the day, for more clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook.