(Reuters.) Spanish unemployment rose for the first-time since the third quarter 2020. It raises concern that the recovery process from the COVID-19 epidemic may have stalled.

From 13.33% for the prior three months, unemployment rose to 13.65% in quarter one. This is the lowest level of unemployment since 2008 according to data from National Statistics Institute (INE).

The unemployment rate was 15.98% for the first quarter last year.

The rate has been steadily falling from 16.26% at the end of the third quarter 2020. This was in conjunction with an economic rebound following the pandemic. However, the global slowdown caused by Russia’s invasion in Ukraine and subsequent inflationary pressures on food and energy prices has slowed global growth.

Spain’s higher fuel costs prompted truckers in Spain to leave for several weeks, disrupting supply chain and forcing factories to stop production.

Although there was an increase in unemployment, 20.1 million Spaniards are fully employed. This is around 100,200 less than the quarter before, but still quite a high level compared to the levels seen prior to the global financial crisis.

The INE reported that 92% of jobs were lost in the fourth quarter in the private sector and the rest in government. Most of the losses came from the services, agriculture and industrial sectors.

Most job losses occurred in tourist hot spots Catalonia and Andalusia.

Nevertheless, the INE highlighted that more than 878,000 new jobs were created in the past 12 months.