Spain expects to add 1 million jobs in two years

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces a battle to win another term at the forthcoming election

As the election bandwagon begins to roll, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has fired the first shot across the bows by bullishly stating that he expects Spain’s economy to add one million new jobs in the two years between 2014 and the end of 2015…

Previously, Rajoy’s government had forecast the creation of around 800,000 jobs over the same period, but this upward revisal is a reflection of growing confidence in the Spanish economy.

In a recent interview with Spanish broadcaster Efe, Rajoy stuck to his guns when pressed on wider economic growth, insisting that the country is on course to achieve two per cent growth in 2015.

On the job front, Rajoy added that around 600,000 extra jobs are expected to be created this year, adding to the official 417,574 new jobs that were recorded in 2014.

However, unemployment figures remain high at around 4.4 million, which is still some 23 per cent of the working-age population. Campaigns for the forthcoming general election are likely to revolve around this perpetually thorny issue, with Rajoy’s People’s Party (PP) expected to extol the virtues of their slow, considered reform programme that has seen the country steadily turn around its fortunes.

In direct opposition to the PP stands new left-wing upstart party, Podemos (We Can), which is already leading some Spanish polls just months before the election. Its leader, Pablo Iglesias, is an enigmatic firebrand who has captured the imaginations of much of Spain’s disgruntled youth.

Hence, the election is being billed as a battle between the guiding hands of the conservative incumbents against the stirring words and actions of the inexperienced – but effervescent – Podemos party.

Latest data from Metroscopia (a poll of 1,000 people) has Podemos on 28.2 per cent of the vote, with PP at 19.2 per cent, while ABC newspaper claims PP is in the lead with 29.3 per cent compared to Podemos at 21.1 per cent.