MADRID (Reuters) – Spain is likely to add more than 80,000 jobs in September as the economy recovers from the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva said on Thursday.

He said that the data “confirms the strong dynamism of Spain’s labor market, which we have been observing since June”, and that over half a million had returned to work in May.

Escriva said that September’s projected job creation is approximately equal to the August 76,000 jobs.

According to Escriva, more than 20,000 people had quit the national ERTE Furlough Programme in September. However, there were approximately 250,000 still enrolled. In the second quarter, 2020, the program supported more than 3.6million people.

He estimated that approximately 80,000 people are now supported only in part by the scheme. The rest of the population is not even being covered.

The government has spent around 40 billion euros on maintaining workers in furlough and unemployment since the outbreak of the pandemic. This is a figure that he estimated at $47.07 billion.

The bulk of those who left the furlough program were in the tourism industry and associated industries such as aviation.

In August, Spain’s unemployment fell to the lowest point since the outbreak of the pandemic. This was due to widespread vaccinations and relaxations in travel restrictions.

($1 = 0.8498 euros)