Unemployment rate in Spain rises to highest level in five years

Data released by the Ministry of Labor today showed that unemployment claims in Spain rose for the fifth month in a row, rising by 1.12% by 44,436 applications to 4,008,789 applications during February, the highest level in five years.

Compared to the same period last year, unemployment claims increased by 23.5% from February 2020, and Spain has lost more than 400,000 jobs since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, about two-thirds of them in the hospitality sector, with an 80% decline in international tourism.

"The high unemployment caused by the third wave is bad news that reflects the structural defects of the labor market exacerbated by the epidemic," Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz said in a tweet on Twitter, with tourism-dependent regions such as the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands being particularly hard hit.