Madrid, Nov 29 (IANS): Spain's private consumption increased by 0.4 percent in the third quarter this year, helping boost economy that grew by 0.1 percent between July and September, an official figure showed.

The National Institute of Statistics reported Thursday that household consumption increased by 0.4 percent in the third quarter compared to the second quarter after five consecutive three-month periods of falls, which helped Spain to leave economic recession behind, reports Xinhua.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, employment decreased by 3.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the second one, which meant 522,000 less jobs in the year.

This decrease affected all sectors, especially the industry sector, although slightly less in the case of the services and construction sector.

Public expenditure and investment also contributed positively to the country's economic growth in the third quarter. Public expenditure increased by 0.1 percent in the third quarter.

The Spanish Secretary of State for Economy Fernando Jimenez-Latorre said that this new data meant that the process of Spain's economic recovering had started.