Spain’s jobless rate hits seven-year low

The unemployment rate in Spain fell to a seven-year low at the end of 2016, dropping to 18.6 percent, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). However, the pace of job creation in one of Europe's most troubled labor markets is reportedly already starting to slow. Economic growth is set to fall to 2.5 percent in 2017 from 3.2 percent the previous year, according to the government, and job creation is also forecast to slow more markedly. A total of 413,900 jobs were created in 2016 compared to 525,100 in 2015, according to INE.