It doesn’t look like 2013 is going to be any better for Spain’s economy than 2012 was. According to Reuters, the latest figures just released by the National Statistics Institute show Spain’s unemployment rate has risen yet again, this time to a record 26.02 percent. That means Spain now has 5.97 million people who are unemployed.
The worst statistic is yet to come, however. While almost 6 million Spaniards are now on the unemployment line, Spaniards under the age of 25 have it even worse. In fact, 60 percent of Spain’s under 25 year olds are now unemployed. A lost generation, as analysts keep saying.
Unfortunately, there is no silver lining to this cloud at all as analysts expect Spain’s unemployment rate to keep increasing for at least the next three to six months, with the recession in Spain lasting through the end of 2013.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s deep spending cuts have also made things worse for most Spaniards. Since he took office just over a year ago, more than three quarters of a million Spaniards more are now unemployed than before he was elected prime minister. That’s what happens when you keep insisting “austerity works” when anyone with a brain knows it doesn’t.
Let’s face it, until someone else is the Spanish leader, someone who does understand basic Economics, under Mariano Rajoy Spain doesn’t stand a chance of any meaningful recovery and its unemployment figures will just get worse.