MADRID, Spain -- Spain's unemployment rate dropped to 23.7 per cent in the third quarter from 24.5 per cent in the previous three-month period, the latest sign of the economy's recovery.

The National Statistics Institute said Thursday that the number of jobless people fell by 195,200 in the quarter, leaving the total number of unemployed at a rounded 5.4 million. That's down from 5.6 million in the second quarter.

Spain is recovering from two recessions, the last of which ended late 2013. The economy has expanded in each of the past four quarters and the government predicts it will grow by 1.3 per cent over the year.

It also expects a six-year run of job destruction to end in 2015 with the creation of 622,000 jobs.