Today in Spain: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

Spain scores record employment figures

Spain’s labour market surpassed 21.78 million workers for the first time in May after adding an average of 195,736 new social security contributors.

Almost 40 percent of these new works are in the hospitality sector.

May also brought positive unemployment figures: 2.5 million, the lowest rate for 17 years, since July 2008.

Home exchanges gain ground on hotels and Airbnbs in Spain

Home exchanges are gaining ground in Spain at a time when staying in a hotel during vacations has become a pipe dream for families, and where staying in a vacation rental is only slightly cheaper than staying in a hotel.

A French company with that very name, Home Exchange, now has Spain as its second most important market out of 155 countries.

The platform now has 32,000 hosts in Spain, allowing for a wide array of choice for its Spain-based and global customers.

Property prices kept increasing in May

The price of second-hand homes in Spain rose 12.8 percent year-on-year in May, reaching €2,391/m2, according to the latest Idealista property price index.

This figure also represents a 5.3 percent increase over the last three months and a 1.7 percent increase compared to the previous month.

It is once again the highest price for existing homes in Spain since idealista began keeping a record of them.

Europe probes reasons for Spain’s blackout

The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (known as ENTSO-e) has now sent a letter to the Spanish government requesting assistance in response to what it describes as the "reluctance" of the major electricity companies to provide information and data relevant to the investigation into April 28th’s blackout.

The letter has also been sent to the European Commission, stating that Spain’s grid operator Red Eléctrica has not shared the corresponding information either, which could result in a delay in the outcome of the report.

The Spanish electricity companies are citing “confidentiality” requirements. Endesa, Iberdrola, Repsol, and Naturgy have refused to agree to share responsibility for the blackout.