Spain’s registered unemployment fell in May for the first time in 14 months, as an €8bn job creation plan introduced by the government to soften the effects of the economic crisis took effect, labour ministry figures showed on Tuesday.

Dole claimants in May fell by 24,741 from the previous month to 3.62m. However, separate figures from the latest quarterly survey by the National Statistics Institute showed Spanish unemployment above 4m at the end of March, equivalent to 17.4 per cent of the workforce and double the European Union average.