Spanish jobless claims up by 35,988 in March, less than in previous months

Spanish unemployment claims at 4.16 million

MADRID — The number of people signing for unemployment benefits in Spain rose by 35,988 in March, an improvement from previous months which politicians claimed as proof the country is slowly emerging from a crippling recession.

The monthly increase meant a total of 4.17 million people were now claiming unemployment benefits, the Labor Ministry said Tuesday.

It was the eighth consecutive monthly increase but compared positively to the 123,543 new claims posted in March 2009 and the 82,132 registered in February of this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said the figures were “the best of the last three months” and “strengthen the idea that we are on the right path.”

“If we continue like this there will be a slight increase in employment by the end of the year,” she told Spain’s Telecinco television.

Spain has plunged over the past two years from being Europe’s top job creator to having the region’s highest unemployment rate — 18.8 percent — owing to the collapse of its construction industry and the effects of the international financial crisis.