THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Spain’s unemployment rate reached 25pc, official data showed of Friday, the highest level since the nation’s transition to democracy, with further layoffs predicted next year.
Tens of thousands of jobs were lost between July and September raising the number of unemployed to 5.78 million people, Spain’s National Statistics Institute reported, a level unseen since the dictatorship of Francisco Franco ended in the mid-1970s.
The number of Spanish households in which every member is out of work climbed to 1.74 million, roughly one tenth of all Spanish families.
The rise in the number of jobless comes as Spain sinks deeper into recession, with output expected to decline for the third consecutive quarter.
It comes as Spain struggles with deep austerity measures that have forced many out onto the street in protest.
Unions have called a general strike for November 14, the second since Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government came to power in December. » | Fiona Govan, in Madrid | Friday, October 26, 2012
