(Recasts, adds Solbes comments, background)
MADRID, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Spain has entered its first recession in 15 years, with the Bank of Spain saying on Tuesday that economic contraction in the third quarter spilled over into the final three months of the year.
"The indicators relating to the fourth quarter so far show a continued deterioration in the Spanish economy," the central bank said in its December bulletin.
Spain's economy shrank by 0.2 percent between July and September and a second consecutive quarter of negative growth would officially put the euro zone's fourth largest economy into recession for the first time since 1993.
Asked if the Bank of Spain's monthly bulletin meant Spain was in recession Economy Minister Pedro Solbes avoided using the word, but said the implications of the report were clear.
"It reflects a feeling we all have in light of the latest figures ... and that is that the fourth quarter is a quarter that could see negative growth, and as such the conclusion is obvious," he told a news conference.
The Bank of Spain report said domestic demand remained weak and a drop in investment in capital goods would "probably" intensify in the fourth quarter.
Figures out last Tuesday from the Economy Ministry's ISA activity indicator showed gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 1.5 percent year-on-year between October and December and for a steeper fall in the fourth quarter than the third.
Growth in both corporate and household debt continued to slow as banks restricted credit and consumers tightened purse-strings.
Construction investment also contracted further in the fourth quarter, the Bank said.
That sector was the motor of a decade-long economic boom that made Spain the envy of other large eurozone members, however the sector is in sharp contraction due to oversupply and a lack of access to credit.
Of the 171,000 people who lost their jobs in November, 40,453 jobs were builders. That took the total number of registered jobless to 2.99 million, adding to what is already the European Union's highest jobless rate.
The latest data for the labour market pointed to "an intensifying of the deterioration seen over the last few months" the Bank said.
Spain releases preliminary fourth quarter GDP data on Feb. 12. (Reporting by Manuel Maria Ruiz; Writing by Judy MacInnes and Ben Harding)