Unemployment down by 4.3 percent in May

Newsdesk THE number of unemployed people registered in the offices of the SOIB (Balearic Job Service) fell by 1'285 people in May, some 4.35 percent in comparison with May 2005. This drop brings the unemployed figure in the Balearics to 28'259, the lowest registered in the fifth month of the year since 2002. Social Security had 26'441 people registering in the islands in May, some 5.9 percent more than 12 months ago, the highest rise since 2000, making a total of 474'942 contributors, a new record for this month, according to the Spanish Ministry of Work and Social Affairs yesterday. The Balearics was the fifth autonomous region where unemployment fell most in May in comparison with last year, although the fall in the islands was higher than the national average of 0.14 percent. With respect to April, the Balearics were the region which registered a major percentage fall (-19.42 percent), with 5'811 less unemployed people due especially to the start of the high tourist season, which meant 6'216 service sector workers were taken off the unemployment register. Nevertheless, this sector, which encompasses tourism and catering, has three quarters of the total of unemployed people on the islands (21'645 of a total of 28'259). This is followed by construction (3'919), industry (1'622), the group who have never had a job (829) and agriculture (244). The fall in the interannual unemployment didn't affect foreigners who are on the Balearics, it grew by 2.25 percent (226 more unemployed people), affecting a total of 4'226 immigrants, of whom 2'689 are from outside the European Union and 1'539 are from EU countries. On the other hand, in April the unemployment for this group fell by 33 percent (-2'083), the biggest fall in the whole of Spain.