MADRID, Oct 2: The ranks of Spanish job seekers swelled by 1.7 per cent over the month to stand at 4.7 million in September, the labour ministry said on Tuesday.

The number of Spaniards registered as seeking work increased by 11.3 per cent from September last year. In September, the number of jobless people mostly rose in the service industry — up 85,713, while dipping slightly in the agriculture (-2,633), construction (-9,687) and industry (-966) sectors.

According to the National Statistics Institute, which uses a different calculation, the overall unemployment rate had reached 24.63 per cent by the end of June, a record in the industrialised world.—AFP