“Unemployment rose this quarter in all sectors: Services (124,900 more), Industry (21,100), Construction (13,700) and Agriculture (4,500),” the INE said in a statement.

Compared to a year ago, however, the number of unemployed people in Spain fell by 188,700. In the first quarter of the year, Spain’s labour force grew by 101,200 people to 24,554,500. As a result, Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the European Union (EU).

According to the latest official figures, released on April 1st, the unemployment rate fell to 6.1% in the eurozone and 5.7% in the European Union (EU) in February.

Poland (2.6%), Malta and the Czech Republic (2.7% each) had the lowest unemployment rates in February, while Spain (10.4%), Sweden (9.0%) and Greece (8.6%) had the highest.