MADRID, Spain -- The number of people registered as unemployed in Spain rose by a little over 87,000 in October as many jobs created in the summer tourist season come to an end.

The Labor Ministry said Tuesday that the October figure took the total number unemployed to a rounded 4.8 million. October, like September, usually sees unemployment rising as the tourism sector reduces headcount with the onset of winter.

The increase comes amid some hopeful signs over Spain's economy with a two-year recession coming to an end in the third quarter, albeit with modest quarterly growth of 0.1 per cent.

But Spain's third-quarter unemployment rate of 26 per cent -- the second highest in in the 28-country European Union after Greece -- shows much more is needed for the economy to regain health.