Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said Friday that Spain's job market is showing signs of improvement this month after a record decline in the first quarter.

"We see a clear turning point in April," Salgado told journalists, adding the government's stimulus packages were producing there desired results.

Earlier Friday, Spain's National Statistics Institute said the country's unemployment rate in the first quarter rose to 17.36%.

-By Jonathan House, Dow Jones Newswires; +34 91 395 8120; jonathan.house@dowjones.com