Spain unemployment hits record high

PanARMENIAN.Net - One in four Spanish workers were without a job in the third quarter of this year, a record high, and further layoffs are likely to follow next year as more of the country's 60 billion euro program of budget austerity kicks in, Reuters reported.

The official numbers follow labor unions call for a general strike for November 14, part of growing protests over cutbacks that many believe have done little to combat the crisis and only served to put more people out of work.

Data from the National Statistics Institute showed the unemployment rate rose to 25.0 percent in the three months from July-September, a level unseen since the Francisco Franco dictatorship ended in the mid-1970s.

That was up from 24.6 percent in the previous quarter, and just below the 25.1 percent consensus forecast. The number of workers without a job stood at 5.8 million.

Only Greece has higher unemployment in the European Union and the data puts further pressure on the government as it battles to control a public deficit to meet Brussels' demands in a recession that shows no sign of letting up.

Spain's financing needs are largely covered for this year, and its cost of borrowing from bond markets has eased significantly since August thanks to the European Central Bank's promise to buy the country's bonds should it call for help.