Fri Nov 7, 2008
By Andrew Hay and Manuel Maria Ruiz - Analysis
MADRID (Reuters) - Unemployment in Spain is surging ahead of job losses in other EU countries and there are fears it could hit depression-like rates above 20 percent as 14 years of economic boom give way to a protracted slump.
Spain's economy, fourth largest in the euro zone, will suffer its first recession since 1993 this year, likely contract until 2011 and not generate jobs until 2012, most analysts say.
Already in just over a year, Spain has gone from creating over a third of new jobs in the European Union to destroying more than France, Britain and Italy put together. http://www.reuters.com/article/gc04/idUSTRE4A63HN20081107?sp=true