http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/04/02/inenglish/1364911188_078981.html
Hiring in the hostelry business and other service sectors to cover increased activity during last week’s Easter holiday period helped provide some welcome relief to Spain’s sclerotic labor market in March.
According to figures released Tuesday by the Labor Ministry, the number of people officially registered as out of work with employment offices declined by 4,979, or 0.1 percent, to 5.035 million after a record high of 5.04 million in February. In March of last year, jobless claims climbed by 38,769. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, jobless claims last month fell by 6,212 to 4.857 million.
“This is the first fall in unemployment in March since 2008, and contrasts significantly with the figure in 2012,” the ministry said in a statement. In analyzing the figures it is important to bear in mind that Easter fell in April last year.
“There is a clear favorable impact from Easter Week, but the destruction of jobs is significantly less than the worst months of 2012,” Reuters quoted Santiago Sánchez Guíu, the coordinator for economics of the Flores de Lemus Institute of Carlos II University.
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