Spain Registers 4 Million Unemployed For The First Time Since 2016

Spain Registers 4 Million Unemployed For The First Time Since 2016.

The month of February is traditionally the transition between the fall in employment after the Christmas period and the increase in jobs ahead of Easter. This year however is unusual in that the figures for unemployment have more than doubled compared to the same time last year.

The effects of the pandemic, the increase in restrictions and the lack of a reopening horizon for the holidays, has helped pushed unemployment above the 4 million mark- a level that Spain hasn’t seen since May 2016. With the rise in unemployment that was registered today, 44,436 people, the total number of unemployed is now 4,008,789.

Three autonomous communities have been spared from the rise in unemployment, they are the Basque Country (-1,702), Extremadura (-1,517) and Galicia (-756). In other regions, unemployment increased, especially in Andalucía (+14,418), Valencian Community (+8,363) and Madrid Community (+7,417). It is noted that these latter regions are especially reliant on foreign tourism.

By sectors, the drop in employment has once again occurred notably in Hospitality, which lost another 25,894 jobs; The loss of employment in Commerce (-20,009) and in administrative activities (-6,671) also contributes to the total. The only sector that is making a recovery is construction, which added 22,698 jobs.

The increase in unemployment caused by the restrictions to activity is also noted in the ERTEs, which remain at very high levels: 899,383 are still in temporary employment, 28,903 less than in January according to revised data from the ministry of employment.

60% of the workers protected by this temporary employment system belong to the five sectors hardest hit by the crisis and by administrative restrictions: accommodation, food and beverage services, travel agencies, air transport and gambling.

Hopes raised for a summer season

Spain has said it will consider a “green corridor” for vaccinated British tourists if there is no EU agreement on vaccination passports, the country’s tourism minister has said, as the European commission prepared to table a proposal for leaders later this month.

Fernando Valdés said his government would seek to find agreement on a common system among the 27 member states to allow tourism to restart. However, he said Madrid would probably open bilateral talks with non-EU countries if that failed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Spain Registers 4 Million Unemployed For The First Time Since 2016”. For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news and Global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.