More than 4 mn jobless in Spain

Madrid, Agency
Unemployment rose 1.2 percent in Spain last month compared with August, leaving the total number of jobless at more than 4 million, the Labor and Immigration Ministry said Monday.

The figure represents an increase of 308,316, or 8.3 percent, from September 2009.

Just over 2 million of the unemployed are women.

Unemployment in the services sector climbed 2.3 percent last month, while the entry into the labor force of more first-time job seekers also contributed to the increase.

The jobless rate among Spain's large immigrant population has soared by 14.34 percent in the past 12 months.

Unemployment remains at around 20 percent in Spain, where the effects of the global recession were aggravated by the collapse of a long construction and property boom that made the country's economy the envy of most of Madrid's partners in the European Union.

The Socialist government has moved away from stimulus policies and embarked on a plan to bring the budget deficit - which reached 11 percent of gross domestic product at the end of last year - down to 6 percent of GDP next year and to 3 percent of GDP by 2013.

To reach those goals, Madrid has cut civil servants' pay by 5 percent, trimmed investment in infrastructure, frozen pensions for 18 months and introduced proposals to raise the retirement age.

Acknowledging the likely effects of austerity on the nascent recovery, the government recently issued a more pessimistic forecast for 2011, calling for a jobless rate of 19.3 percent.

Spaniards in general are also less hopeful about the economy, according to the latest survey of consumer confidence, released Monday.

The index fell 2.1 points last month to 72.8, the first monthly decline since the spring, the Official Credit Institute said, adding that respondents were likewise less confident that the economy will be better six months from now.

Even so, the institute says it expects a continuing "modest recovery" in domestic consumption.