Spain’s ‘Desempleo’ Rate at 20%

With all the focus on job losses here at home, we sometimes forget how the economic crisis—which originated in the U.S.—has affected other countries. Official figures in Spain, for example, show that that country’s unemployment rate has hit 20 percent, highest in the eurozone. —JCL

The BBC:

Spain’s unemployment rate has hit 20% for the first time in nearly 13 years, official figures have shown.

There were 4,612,700 people unemployed in the country at the end of March, the national statistics agency INE said.

Spain’s jobless rate has risen sharply during the economic downturn and is the highest in the eurozone.

Meanwhile, official European Union (EU) figures showed that the eurozone unemployment rate remained unchanged at 10% in March.

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Flickr / Hector Lopez-Berges

A cheeky sign in a Madrid shop reflects Spanish angst. It reads: “This is how they’ve left us with our ass up in the air.”