Unemployment in Andalucía rose by 24,551 in August, an increase of 4.7% on the previous month, and brings the total jobless in the region to 613,911.
Nationally, the number of unemployed registerd at the INEM offices rose by 103,085, a 4.25% increase compared to July 2008. There are now 2,530,001 people registered as unemployed in Spain, the highest figure for a decade. Back in 1998, the figure stood at 2.55 million.
The construction industry in Spain, currently in a period of readjustment, witnessed the highest percentage increase in unemployment with 9.9% (38,531 more unemployed), although in real terms, i.e. number of people, the biggest loser was the service industry with 46,344 (3,3%) more unemployed.