Unemployment claims hit record high in Spain

For the eighth month in a row, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits in Spain has risen.

The country’s Labour Ministry reported that 34,406 more people applied for jobless benefits last month, pushing the number of new claimants to a record 4.3 million.

In February Spain’s total jobless rate stood at 4.7 million people, about 20.5% of the population — more than twice the eurozone average. This number includes those not claiming benefits, and is released every three months separately from unemployment claims data.

Spain’s government has imposed tough austerity measures to reduce its debts, and does not expect the economy to start creating jobs until the end of the year at the earliest.

Youth unemployment is still a critical problem, with 12,830 lay-offs in March hitting people under 25 years old. According to European Union data, youth unemployment in Spain was 43.5% in February.

Source:  BBC News

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.