Unemployment in Spain hits historical high

Over six million unemployed in Spain.

The National Statistics Institute today published its latest Active Population Survey (Encuesta sobre la población activa) and the report makes sombre reading. In the first three months of 2013 237.000 people became unemployed - a rise of 1.14% compared to the first term in 2012. 130,400 males lost their jobs and 107,000 lost theirs. Unemployment among young people (under 25)  has reached 57.2% and the number of families whose members are all unemployed rose by 72,400.

This means that for the first time ever there are over 6 million people in Spain without employment (the exact figure is 6.202.700) -  27.16% of the active workforce. Nearly 3 million unemployed (2,901,000) lost their jobs more than a year ago

As news came out last week that for the first time since population surveys have been carried out (1998) population in Spain had fallen by 0.4% largely due to the fact that the economic crisis has driven  over 200,000 foreign residents to return to their native countries, the INE report released today shows that unemployment among foreign residents rose by 80.500 in the first term of 2013 meaning that the rate of unemployment among foreign workers in Spain has risen to 39.21 %.

Source: Diario El Información

Unemployed youth in Spain

Unemployment among young adults in Spain at all-time high

According to figures released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 23.7 percent of young people between 15 and 29 in Spain neither work nor study, 8 points higher than the OECD average.

According to the OECD report on education across developed nations, the only country with a worse figure of unoccupied young people is Israel. As far as unemployed university graduates are concerned, Spain has the highest rate of all the OECD countries. And this year youth unemployment in Spain (unemployment among the under 25s) has reached record figures - 53.27%.

At 25.1%, Spain recorded the highest overall unemployment rate - a rise of 0.2% compared to in July. For the first time this year the unemployment rate (11.3%) in the Eurozone showed no rise with respect to the previous month.

Just last week OECD chief Angel Gurria said that Spain deserved European Union support and had the right to ask for a bailout to unlock required finances over the next two-to-three years.

Last night Mariano Rajoy appeared in his first televised interview since he was elected Prime Minister eight months ago. He insisted that he was still undecided about whether or when to ask for a bailout.

Spanish general election results

The Popular Party, as expected,  won a decisive victory in yesterday's general elections, gaining more than 10.7 million votes and 186 (of the 350) seats in Parliament. This was Mariano Rajoy's third attempt as candidate for Prime Minister, and this time he led his party to a historic result. He improved José Maria Aznar's majority Popular Party win 12 years ago by almost half a million votes and three seats. The Spanish Socialist PSOE party registered it's worst ever result and lost 4.3 million voters comnpared to the last general elections. The left wing coalition Izquierda Unida made important gains, as did the Catalan Separatist Party, CiU, and the new Basque left-wing Separatist party coalition

So, Mariano Rajoy will be the next Prime Minister of Spain. His first and most important mission will be to manage the worst economic situation in recent decades and to implement reforms intended to address the Spanish debt and to meet the deficit targets agreed with Brussels.

The Popular Party has won such a large majority that they will not have to rely on the support of any other parliamentary group to push their anti-crisis measures through. During the campaign Rajoy refused to indicate the scale or the direction of the cuts his party intends to carry out or to reveal which party members would have ministerial posts. In his victory speech last night, Rajoy warned that the coming months would be far from easy and that Spain was at "a crossroads that will decide the future of our country for the coming years or decades".

Meanwhile, the PSOE party faces the challenge of rising from the ashes. Jose Luis Zapatero has said he will act to make the hand-over of power (which usually takes a month in Spain) quicker than usual, and the PM candidate, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, has called on his colleagues to convene a Party congress to decide the new leadership. The Socialists won just 110 seats - its worst ever result.

ETA renounces use of arms

ETA has declared, through the newspapers Gara and Berria, a permanent halt to armed conflict and has appealed to the Spanish and French to "open a direct dialogue" to resolve "the consequences of conflict".

The band, which in the statement calls itself thes "Basque revolutionary socialist organization  for national liberation", said that the International Peace Conference held in the Basque Country this week had been "an initiative of great political significance" and the statement agreed at the meeting " put together the ingredients for a comprehensive solution to the conflict and has the support of broad sectors of Basque society and the international community. "

"In Euskal Herria is opening a new political period. We have been given a historic opportunity to offer a just and democratic solution to the secular political conflict " the statement read, and "instead of the former violence and repression, dialogue and agreement should characterize the new cycle".

The statement when on to say that "it is time to look ahead with hope and to act with responsibility and courage." To this end ETA had decided to call for a "permanent halt to armed activity," and call on the Governments of Spain and France to open "a direct dialogue process aimed at resolving the consequences of the conflict and overcoming the armed confrontation"
Political reaction to the ETA permanent ceasefire

A sombre and weary-looking José Luis Zapatero gave a press conference shortly after ETA's announcement in which he expressed his satisfaction, and said Spain would now have a democracy without violence, but not without memory (referring to the victims of terrorist attacks). He stressed the role of the police, detectives and civil guards and also acknowledged the support of the French Government in the fight against ETA. Mariano Rajoy, leader of the opposition PP party and according to all political surveys, clear winner in the Spanish elections next month, said it was good news for Spain and a credit to Spanish civil society. He also underlined the fact that the announcement had come without any policital concessions having been made to the terrorists.


Video of ETA's ceasefire statement

Last bullfight in Barcelona

Last July a law was passed by the regional government of Catalonia prohibiting bullfighting in Catalonia from 1^st January 2012.

Yesterday the last bullfight took place in Barcelona. Two of Spain’s most famous bull fighters José Tomás and Sebastián Marín opened the historic occasion which took place in Barcelona’s famous Monumental bull ring.

It was an emotional occasion for those involved with some spectators holding up placards saying ‘we will go on’. Barcelona has a long history of bull fighting dating back centuries - the first ever documented bull fight took place in 1387.

However, opponents to bullfighting, viewed by many as barbaric, celebrated the end of this long tradition in Spain’s second largest city.