Unemployment in Spain edges towards the five million mark
THE NUMBER of officially unemployed people in Spain rose by 2.7 per cent in October from a month earlier, data revealed yesterday, reflecting the country’s ongoing economic crisis.
Labour ministry figures showed an extra 128,242 people being out of work, with the total number reaching 4.8m.
This was the third straight month the jobless figures rose after a respite during the summer tourism season.
Monthly jobless data records the number Spaniards registered as out of work, while the unemployment rate, which hit a record high of 25 per cent in the third quarter, is an official survey and considered a more reliable gauge of the jobs market.
“Private-sector employment will continue to be squeezed at an alarming pace with deteriorating domestic demand conditions encouraging firms to extend their labour shake-out,” said Raj Badiani of IHS Global Insight.
Badiani added that the hike in VAT, brought in on 1 September, could squeeze private spending in coming months, further harming the jobs situation.