MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest rate since April 2010 last month, a survey showed on Monday, as the economy pulls steadily out of a prolonged recession.
Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of manufacturing companies rose to 52.9 in May from 52.7 in April, marking its sixth straight month above the 50 line separating growth from contraction.
"The recent growth in the Spanish manufacturing sector shows little sign of falling away at present, with further solid expansions in output and new orders recorded in May," said economist at Markit Andrew Harker.
"One of the positives from the latest survey was that firms upped their rate of purchasing to the fastest in more than four years, suggesting less of a reluctance to hold inventories amid positive expectations for the future."
Job creation in the sector slowed slightly in May from a month earlier but remained in positive territory for the fourth straight month. More than a quarter of the Spanish workforce remains out of work, however.
Spain's economy expanded 0.4 percent in the first quarter, buoyed by recovering domestic demand and marking the third straight quarter of growth.
(Reporting by Paul Day; Editing by Hugh Lawson)