Jan 26 (Reuters) - Spain's unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped in the fourth quarter to end the year at its lowest since 2007, according to official figures that bode well ahead of next week's economic growth data release.
Unemployment rate fell to 11.76% in the fourth quarter, down from 11.84% in the third quarter and 12.87% a year earlier, the National Statistics Institute said on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters expected the rate would rise to 11.90% and the country's central bank saw it rising to 12.1%.
"The job market data in 2023 show the strength and the resilience of the Spanish economy's recovery," Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said following the INE report.
Spanish GDP data for the fourth quarter is due to be published next Tuesday.
Over the past few quarters, Spain has recorded faster GDP growth than other large European economies. The government expects growth to have been a solid 2.4% in 2023.
The number of unemployed people fell to 2.83 million and the country added 783,000 new jobs in 2023, INE said. During the fourth quarter, employment in most industries rose, though it fell in services, as the tourism industry traditionally hires fewer workers in the winter.
The unemployment rate has steadily declined from a peak of 16.26% in the third quarter of 2020 during the pandemic. (Reporting by Matteo Allievi, editing by Inti Landauro and Christina Fincher)
