Unemployment and corruption: Spaniards list their worries

PEOPLE in Spain are increasingly worried about unemployment, says a new report.

In January, losing work jumped four points on the scale of concerns measured by the Sociology Investigation Centre barometer, made public today (Wednesday, February 4). The survey found 74.4 per cent of Spanish citizens said they were anxious about unemployment, significantly more than any other issue.

But it seems some people have been reassured by efforts to tackle corruption in the country. Just over half of respondents, 55.5 per cent, rated corruption as a concern, 4.5 points fewer than the previous survey.

Financial matters are a non-mover in third place of issues causing distress, mentioned by 24.5 per cent of interviewees, while political parties are fourth on the list, with 21.8 per cent.

Health care was mentioned as a main worry for 10.3 per cent of participants.

Social problems (9.8 per cent), education (7.1 per cent) and austerity policies (3.4 per cent) are also amongst Spaniards’ main concerns.

However, the report shows that Spanish perspective on the economy is becoming just slightly more optimistic.

The vast majority, 76.5 per cent, of interviewees think that the economy is currently bad (40.1 per cent) or very bad (42.3 per cent), compared to 21.2 per cent who believe the situation is mediocre, and only a 1.8 per cent who thinks it is good.

Not an exactly sunny outlook, then, but it is better than the results of October 2014, when 82.2 per cent considered the economy bad or very bad. Those who think the economy is mediocre have increased by 5 per cent.

When asked for a prediction, 44.3 per cent of interviewees thought that the economy would stay the same in the next year. But the number of people who think the economy will be better has increased from 20 per cent in October to a current 27.8 per cent.

All in all, though, Spaniards say they feel happy with their lives, rating an average of 7.05, 10 being ‘completely happy’ and zero ‘completely unhappy.’

Only 6.4 per cent rated their happiness levels below 5, while a blissful 18.6 per cent said they felt either very happy or completely happy.

Author badge placeholder
Written by

Euro Weekly News Media

Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews

Comments