Number of unemployed in Spain rises 2.6% in October

MADRID, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The total number of unemployed workers in Spain rose by 98,906 people in October, a 2.6 percent increase from September, according to data published Tuesday by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics.

It was the third consecutive rise in unemployment after the job market registered a slight improvement between May and July.

In total, 192,658 people lost their job last month. However, that was offset with the creation of jobs in certain sectors.

The service sector saw 62,447 people begin new jobs, an improvement of almost 3 percent, while the construction industry reported 8,802 new workers.

The Spanish government has earlier said the country's unemployment rate stood at an EU-high of 17.9 percent in the third quarter.

It was feared that more than four million Spanish people would be out of work by the start of 2010.