UPDATE 2-Argentina Q3 jobless rate falls to 15-year low

(Recasts, updates with analyst quote)

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Argentina's unemployment rate fell to a 15-year low in the third-quarter, the Economy Ministry reported on Thursday, but the figure unleashed fresh criticism about the government's handling of economic data.

The INDEC statistics agency, which is responsible for assembling the country's key economic data, has come under fire from workers, analysts and opposition leaders, who say the government is tampering with figures.

Joblessness in the third quarter fell to 8.1 percent from 10.2 percent in the same period last year, confirming the number President Nestor Kirchner announced earlier this week.

INDEC said it used a new methodology for calculating the quarterly unemployment rate, relying on nationwide projections to cover four major urban centers because of a string of recent worker strikes that prevented it from carrying out interviews in those areas.

"Obviously the reading wasn't handled well," said Fausto Spotorno, an analyst at the Orlando Ferreres y Asociados consultancy.

Argentina's inflation readings have been scrutinized since January, when the government replaced the head of INDEC's price unit with someone seen as a political ally. Since then, inflation has largely come in below market expectations.

The Economy Ministry said the percentage of Argentines out of work was 8.8 percent in the third quarter if those who receive government welfare are counted as unemployed.

Vigorous economic growth has helped Argentina to steadily lower the unemployment rate after it peaked at 21.5 percent in 2002 during a sharp economic crisis. The economy is on pace to chalk up its fifth straight year of growth above 8 percent.

"Much of the decline in unemployment is driven by consumer-oriented economic policies that have harnessed strong growth into rising wages," wrote Morgan Stanley in a report ahead of the figure's release.

Argentina's unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in the second quarter.

In a central bank poll BCRA31 last week, analysts forecast the third-quarter jobless rate would fall to 8.1 percent and unemployment would to drop to 7.7 percent by the end of the year. (Reporting by Damian Wroclavsky; Writing by Kevin Gray, editing by Leslie Adler)