In September, the number of people unemployed rose by 79 645 in Spain, up from 38 200 in August and significantly more than the expected 57 000 increase. Last year however, unemployment rose by 95 817 in September. The jobless rate rose by 1.7% to a total number of 4.7 million. After falling at the start of the Summer season, the number of people unemployed is increasing again in Spain. The official survey showed that the unemployment rate rose to 24.6%, a record high and will probably increase further in the months to come, suggesting that consumer spending will remain limited, further curbed by the VAT increase.