ARCHIVED - Unemployment soars in Spain with over 4 million people now out of work
February was a bad month for employment in Spain, with the country passing the 4 million unemployed mark for the first time since April 2016.
One year on from the start of the pandemic, the employment situation in Spain has, as was expected, worsened, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The impact of the third wave of Covid-19 has been harsh, and Spain now has more than four million unemployed, after unemployment rose by 44,436 in February (1.1 per cent), its steepest rise in this month since 2013, when it increased by 59,444 people. Altogether, the latest report reveals that 4,008,789 people are now out of work across the country.
In addition, there are still 900,000 workers still under ERTE furlough schemes, whom the Ministry of Labour does not include within the unemployment data as their hours have been reduced or their jobs suspended, rather than officially ended.
The Social Security system lost 30,211 contributors in February, leaving a total of 19,074,871 people in work and putting an end to a streak of eight consecutive months of increases in the seasonally adjusted series. Over the last year, the Social Security system has lost 400,117 contributors, a fall of 2.08 per cent.
Despite the figures, the national government has called for caution. Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz said that the increase in unemployment caused by the third wave of coronavirus was bad news and that the pandemic had worsened an already weak market but that the government continues to work to improve the situation. The opposition, however, was quick to argue and demand further measures. “Spain is suffering a social catastrophe. We demand that the government brings in an urgent plan to overcome this drama: fewer taxes and bureaucracy, more liquidity and flexibility,” said PP party leader Pablo Casado.