In January of this year, I became one of Spain's five million unemployed. The redundancy in itself has not hurt me badly. I receive a decent monthly unemployment benefit (with entitlement for 16 months) and, on a personal level at least, must admit to being pleased that my husband is one of Spain's 2.5 million job-protected funcionarios. The circumstances surrounding my redundancy, though not atypical, were legally ambiguous. “Ambiguous” because I had been hired to work until the completion of an unspecified project (or 'Fin de Obra') under what remains to date the most common type of contract in Spain. As I was hired in 2009, more than two years prior to recent changes in … [Read more...] about Jobless in Spain: a personal viewpoint
spain unemployment
Getting to the bottom of Spain’s daunting unemployment rate
Of the many bits of bad economic news Spain has received this past year, including finding deficits were higher than expected and growth rates much lower, perhaps no other figure has proven as weighty and daunting as the country’s unemployment rate. Reports released at the end of January saw that number rise to 22.9 percent, adding another dismal headline to the Rajoy government’s first full month in office: nearly 5.3 million people out of work with declines in available positions across the board, from services to the country’s still collapsing construction sector. Capturing the dour outlook of the country’s current situation, The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson summarized the statistics … [Read more...] about Getting to the bottom of Spain’s daunting unemployment rate
Ahead of election, Spain’s next prime minister leaves everyone guessing
Mariano Rajoy, leader of the opposition Popular Party, is set to put two election defeats behind him on November 20 and become Spain’s next prime minister. But his all-but-guaranteed victory (opinion polls suggest the PP will win around 190 seats in the 350-seat parliament, its largest ever majority) has little to do with him. Instead, it has much more to do with a three-year economic crisis, an intractable unemployment disaster and escalating worries about Spain’s debt and public account deficits – problems, compounded, if not induced in the eyes of many, by the economic mismanagement of the current Socialist administration of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Those issues, … [Read more...] about Ahead of election, Spain’s next prime minister leaves everyone guessing
Spain’s woes fail to deter Africans from life-threatening crossing
The European economy is going through a rollercoaster ride right now, with Spain one of the biggest victims of the upheaval. And since German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s invitation earlier this year to Spanish professionals – particularly engineers – to go and find work in her country, many Spaniards are looking abroad as they consider their future. And yet, boatloads of Africans still make the incredibly dangerous journey across the Gibraltar Strait to the shores of Andalusia. The first half of this year saw around 1,000 come to the Spanish mainland (arrivals in the Canary Islands have dropped heavily). That doesn’t sound like a massive number, but the high season for crossing is only … [Read more...] about Spain’s woes fail to deter Africans from life-threatening crossing
With almost five million out of work, Spain’s unemployment crisis rages on
In January 2009, Spain’s then Labour Minister Celestino Corbacho declared confidently that the number of jobless people in Spain would not surpass the four million mark. It took only three months for him to eat his own words as unemployment shot past that psychologically significant level. It has continued to tick upwards ever since. Corbacho lost his job in October last year. Now another minister, Elena Salgado, who holds the economy portfolio and serves as second deputy prime minister, is also putting her credibility on the line. In a press conference on Thursday, she said five-million plus job seekers is not on the cards. “In the opinion of the Economy Ministry that figure will not … [Read more...] about With almost five million out of work, Spain’s unemployment crisis rages on