Despite bumper tourist season, unemployment rose in August

Palma.—The Balearic Minister for the Economy, Joaquin Garcia put some positive spin on the figures by underlining that, year-on-year, August was the tenth consecutive month that the number of people out of work in the Balearics had fallen and that, despite the month-on-month increase, it was the lowest in Spain-
However, neither the unions nor the business sector were convinced claiming that despite the bumper Summer season, it has not translated into more jobs.
“The peak of the Summer season is when the number of people out of work should be at its lowest,” said a spokesperson for the small to medium sized business federation PIMEM.
Granted, the number of people out of work in the Balearics last month was 69,500, 7.3 percent fewer than August last year, but for PIMEM and the unions, that seven percent is not enough.
Central government was also painting a positive picture of the national situation.
The government said the two-year recession has touched bottom after the eurozone’s fourth largest economy eked out a sixth straight month of shrinking jobless queues in August.