Spanish unemployment has hit a new high, with over six million people out of work as the country remains mired in recession.
The jobless rate hit 27.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year – the highest figure on record – according to the National Statistics Institute’s active population survey.
Young Spaniards were among the hardest hit as the jobless rate among the under-25s rose to 57.2 per cent.
Recent data highlighted the exodus of young Spaniards abroad as the active population fell by 85,000 in the first quarter. That drop in the population was also attributed to the return of unemployed immigrants to their home countries.
The data comes days after Bank of Spain figures suggested the country’s economic slump was showing signs of slowing. On Tuesday, the central bank said GDP shrank 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, compared to a contraction of 0.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Steady rise
But yesterday's jobless figures, with nearly 240,000 more people out of work, put the focus firmly back on the struggling labour market. Unemployment has risen steadily since 2007, the tail end of a decade-long property boom, when the figure was just under 8 per cent.
The number of households with all members out of work has reached 1.9 million.
“Today we’ve seen some very bad unemployment data,” said Carlos Floriano of the governing Partido Popular. “But that data mustn’t be an obstacle to, or block, the great effort that Spanish society is making to remove all the obstacles that impede and have impeded economic growth and job creation.”
The government said jobs were being lost at a slower rate than a year ago. However, the new figures have drawn renewed criticism of a government labour reform. Introduced over a year ago, the law sought to create a more flexible jobs market by making hiring and firing easier and less costly.
“How bad do things have to get before the government changes its economic policy, which is not creating jobs or growth?” said Oscar Lopez of the opposition Socialists, who called on the government to suspend the labour reform. “There are six million reasons to demand a change.”
The government is expected to present a new series of economic reforms today.