Industrial production in Spain dropped 22.3% year-on-year in May, slower than a 28.4% fall in the preceding month, the National Statistics Institute or INE said Friday.

Annually, mining and quarrying output fell 28%, while manufacturing output declined 23.4%. Production of utilities was down 9%. Among the main industrial groups, the steepest fall in production of 36.2% was for durable consumer goods.

After adjusting for working days, the industrial production slipped 20.5% in May compared to a revised 19.4% fall in April. Economists expected a 16% drop.

In the first five months of the year, output dipped 21.6% compared to the same period the previous year.