For those who watch in horror as Obama screws up the US economy, spare a thought for the pain in Spain where budget deficits are out of control, home prices are still falling, GDP is down 2% annualized in the first quarter, production is down, the unemployment rate soared a full percentage point to 27.16%, and a record 6.2 million are out of work. Two million out of 17.4 million Spanish households are without a single person holding a job. Job losses were particularly heavy in the services sector, but also in industry and farming.
Construction has shed more than 1.6 million jobs since 2008 as a result of the bursting of Spain’s housing bubble. These numbers are an indication of a freefall, not a bottom. Yet, Prime Minister Rajoy says the Spanish economy has bottomed and Spain will return to growth this year. Read more
