Spain September Jobless Claims Rise as Homebuilding Slumps

By Ben Sills

Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Registered unemployment in Spain surged by almost a third in September from a year earlier after a decade-long real-estate boom ended, leading to a slump in homebuilding.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits jumped 30 percent, or 608,005, the Labor Ministry said in an e-mailed statement. Claims rose 3.7 percent, or 95,367, from August, marking a sixth monthly increase.

Spain's economy faces its first recession in 15 years in the second half as the construction slump drags down activity in services and manufacturing, the European Commission said. The number of mortgages for home purchases fell by almost a third in the year to July as banks, starved of capital by the global credit shortage, reined in lending.

Unemployment in service industries rose 3.8 percent, or 56,897, as the summer tourist season ended. Jobless claims among construction workers rose 3.3 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sills in Madrid at bsills@bloomberg.net