AT LAST, a positive news item:

The number of jobseekers in Spain fell by more than 2% in 2004, the first yearly decline since 2000, the labour ministry said.

At end-December, a total of 1.67 million people were registered looking for work, a decline of 41,197 or 2.41%.

The ministry said the number of jobless people fell by 12,432, or 0.74% in December from November.

For the full-year 2004, the number of jobless fell in all sectors except services, where it rose by 1,866, or 0.19%.

I'm not partisan, and I don't want to look like one but, how much of this is the sustained ripple effect of the previous administration? It could be, since so far the new government hasn't taken any meaningful economic measure; it has been legislating mainly in political and social matters.