FT
Spanish unemployment climbed to nearly 5m in the first quarter of the year, hitting the highest level in 14 years as the consequences of an imploded construction bubble continued to weigh on the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.
The proportion of adults out of work in Spain rose to 21.3 per cent, up from 20.3 per cent in the previous quarter as the Spanish government this week embarked on a set of measures to clamp down on unofficial work in the black market.
The total number of unemployed rose to 4,910,200 at the end of March, according to Spain’s National Statistics Institute, with the number of jobless in the first quarter increasing by 214,000.
The Socialist government of José Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero on Thursday announced plans to offer incentives to companies to declare their unregistered workers as part of a drive to increase tax receipts, and clamp down on people claiming benefits while receiving cash for informal work.
Valeriano Gomez, labour minister, said the amnesty would come ahead of harsher sanctions against unregistered employment coming into force in three months’ time.
After enjoying a decade-long property-led economic boom, the Spanish economy is now wading in high levels of private sector debt as real estate prices have fallen sharply and unemployment has jumped.
Spain’s level of youth unemployment, which counts those under the age of 25 registering for state benefits, sits at about 40 per cent, while the 21 per cent level for adults is more that double the eurozone average.
Official data also showed that Spanish retail sales fell by 8.6 per cent year-on-year on a calendar-adjusted basis in March, a deeper drop than the 4.6 per cent recorded in February in the ninth consecutive monthly drop.
The negative news was compounded by European data showing an increase in the rate of annual harmonised consumer price inflation in the single currency zone, reinforcing expectations of further interest rate rises by the European Central Bank over the year.
Some economists and analysts have expressed fears that a rate rise would stifle any fledgling recovery in the eurozone periphery which lags behind Germany, and could hurl Spain back into a prolonged recession.
Spain’s unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted, and many economists argue that it fails to reflect the sharp swings in Spain’s temporary labour market during the down period for tourism and leisure during the winter months.
Spanish unemployment climbed to nearly 5m in the first quarter of the year, hitting the highest level in 14 years as the consequences of an imploded construction bubble continued to weigh on the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.
The proportion of adults out of work in Spain rose to 21.3 per cent, up from 20.3 per cent in the previous quarter as the Spanish government this week embarked on a set of measures to clamp down on unofficial work in the black market.
The total number of unemployed rose to 4,910,200 at the end of March, according to Spain’s National Statistics Institute, with the number of jobless in the first quarter increasing by 214,000.
The Socialist government of José Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero on Thursday announced plans to offer incentives to companies to declare their unregistered workers as part of a drive to increase tax receipts, and clamp down on people claiming benefits while receiving cash for informal work.
Valeriano Gomez, labour minister, said the amnesty would come ahead of harsher sanctions against unregistered employment coming into force in three months’ time.
After enjoying a decade-long property-led economic boom, the Spanish economy is now wading in high levels of private sector debt as real estate prices have fallen sharply and unemployment has jumped.
Spain’s level of youth unemployment, which counts those under the age of 25 registering for state benefits, sits at about 40 per cent, while the 21 per cent level for adults is more that double the eurozone average.
Official data also showed that Spanish retail sales fell by 8.6 per cent year-on-year on a calendar-adjusted basis in March, a deeper drop than the 4.6 per cent recorded in February in the ninth consecutive monthly drop.
The negative news was compounded by European data showing an increase in the rate of annual harmonised consumer price inflation in the single currency zone, reinforcing expectations of further interest rate rises by the European Central Bank over the year.
Some economists and analysts have expressed fears that a rate rise would stifle any fledgling recovery in the eurozone periphery which lags behind Germany, and could hurl Spain back into a prolonged recession.
Spain’s unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted, and many economists argue that it fails to reflect the sharp swings in Spain’s temporary labour market during the down period for tourism and leisure during the winter months.
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