Business

Spain jobless rate stuck at 26 pct

By alan-clendenning
Published January 23, 2014 11:17am ET
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Spain jobless rate stuck at 26 pct
People wait outside to enter an unemployment registry office in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. Spain’s national statistics agency says the unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2013 edged up slightly, leaving it stuck at the sky-high level of 26 percent. The agency says joblessness for the October-December period rose to 26.03 percent from 25.98 percent in the previous quarter and that the number of unemployed stood at a rounded 5.9 million people. The unemployment report released Thursday said jobs were lost in Spain’s services, construction and industry sectors but were added in agriculture. Government officials say Spain’s sluggish economy is stabilized and on track for job growth but economists predict it will take years to bring the jobless rate down to a more tolerable level. Banner reads "Employment office".(AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) | Andres Kudacki

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s sky-high unemployment rate remained stuck at 26 percent in the fourth quarter as the economy expanded but not enough to trigger job growth, according to a pair of government reports issued Thursday.

The jobless rate for the October-December period rose to 26.03 percent from 25.98 percent in the previous quarter and the number of unemployed stood at a rounded 5.9 million people, the National Statistics Agency said.

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