27 April, 2015

By VIVA Team

There are half a million more Spaniards with jobs now than at this point last year.

A stark reminder of the precarious nature of Spain’s economic recovery was issued this week when data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) confirmed that the number of Spaniards out of work increased in the first quarter of the year compared to the last quarter of 2014…

The increase was slight – up from 23.7 per cent at the end of last year to 23.78 per cent at the end of March – but did serve to halt a downward trend in unemployment that had been evident for most of 2014.

However, the data also showed that there were three per cent more Spaniards in employment at the end of the first quarter this year than there were at the same time in 2014, which confirms that year-on-year, the recovery has had a significantly positive impact on the lives of many Spaniards.

In fact, that annual increase amounts to 500,000 people back in work, and despite falling slightly on the end of 2014 (when the Christmas rush tends to add a few thousand jobs), the first quarter of 2015 is a marked improvement on most recent years.

Economists have confirmed that Spain is now two years into its post-crisis economic expansion, which means that its GDP has risen every quarter since 2013, and is likely to grow by around 2.5 per cent this year – a performance that is likely to beat many other eurozone countries, perhaps even Germany.

“The first quarter is typically a bad one for employment,” said Marcel Jansen, professor of economy at the Autonoma University in Madrid. “But if you look at the underlying trend, it is clear that the recovery continues.”

Jansen added that the fact that Spain had displayed strong growth in employment at a time of year when economic growth is still weak was reassuring, stating: “Over the next couple of months and quarters Spain will benefit from low energy prices, the depreciation of the euro and low interest. This will hopefully give a further boost to by GDP and employment.”