Unemployment back on the increase in Spain

AUGUST saw the overall loss of 134,000 jobs in Spain and the number of unemployed people increased by 21,679, which was almost three times that of the previous year.

Overall the number of registered unemployed is still over four million, of which about half receive an average payment from the state of €770 per month, although budget cuts may see either the amount paid fall or the ability to qualify for help become more stringent.

In contrast Britain’s unemployment rate has fallen faster than elsewhere in Europe over the past two years, dropping to 5.6 per cent although this may be due to an increase in self-employed and zero-hour contracts.