Spanish jobless claims leapt by 3.1 per cent in January to more than four million as the country remained mired in its worst recession for decades, the government said yesterday.

The number of people seeking jobless benefits rose by 124,890 from December to January to reach 4.048 million, the sixth straight monthly increase, the labour ministry said.

Year-on-year, the total was up by more than 21 per cent.

The rise is "very negative data" but the tendency is toward "a slowdown in the progression of unemployment" since March last year, the ministry said in a statement.

January is traditionally a "bad month" for jobless figures, said the secretary general for employment, Maravillas Rojo.

"Even in periods of economic growth, there is an increase in January," she said, noting this month's rise is less than that of around 200,000 recorded in January, 2009.

The Socialist government of Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is "aware that the situation demands new measures" and "will present proposals" at a meeting with unions and business leaders, she said, but gave no further details.