Spain's February jobless falls 0.27% from January to 2.76 million

(Reuters) -The number of people registering as jobless in Spain fell by 0.27% in February from a month earlier, or by 7,452 people, leaving a total of 2.76 million people out of work, the lowest number for a month of February since 2008, data from the Labour Ministry showed on Monday.

The number of unemployed people dropped in the construction, services, industry and agriculture sectors.

Spain gained 73,492 net formal jobs in February to 20.95 million jobs, a separate report from the Social Security Ministry showed.

"We're seeing historic data for February. We're touching the 21 million jobs figure, a key psychological landmark, with our fingertips," Social Security Minister Elma Saiz told state broadcaster TVE on Monday.

Unemployment of young people under 25 years of age increased 3.28% in February, by 6,601 people, compared to the previous month and reaching a record low in the historical series of 207,755 people in the month of February.

In February, 1.14 million contracts were signed and almost half of them were permanent, the Labour Ministry said.

The Spanish economy was one of the most robust in the euro zone in 2023, with the economy growing 2.5% thanks to the strength of the tourism sector.

The Spanish government expects the good momentum to continue this year, with a target of 2% growth, outperforming the rest of the euro area due to its more services-oriented economy.

(Reporting by Matteo Allievi in Gdansk, editing by David Latona)