Spain's unemployment rate shoots up to record 26.02%January 24, 2013 - 14:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Spain's unemployment rate shot up to a record 26.02 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, leaving almost six million people out of work, the National Statistics Institute said Thursday, Jan 24, according to The Associated Press. The rate rose from 25.02 percent in the third quarter as the country's recession deepened. Over the year, 691,700 more people lost their jobs, the institute said, adding that there were now 1.8 million households in which no one was employed. Spain is in the throes of its second recession in just over three years following the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector in 2008. Battling to reduce a swollen deficit and avoid a bailout, the year-old conservative government has made major financial and labor reforms and applied severe austerity measures such as cutbacks in wages and spending as well as tax increases. The austerity measures are aimed at lowering the deficit, but are hurting the economy in the short-term, while the reforms will only help growth in the longer-term. That means the economy will suffer more before it recovers. The central bank this week estimated that the recession deepened in the fourth quarter of last year, the economy shrinking by 0.6 percent compared with the previous three-month period. It was the sixth consecutive quarterly contraction. The economy contracted by 0.4 percent in the third quarter. The bank estimated economic activity was down 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period and down 1.3 percent for the whole of 2012. The statistics institute will announce official economic growth figures on Jan 30, while Europe's main statistics office Eurostat unveils its estimate on Feb 14. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |