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Where in Spain have the most jobs been lost in the coronavirus?

The Local Spain
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Where in Spain have the most jobs been lost in the coronavirus?
Photo: AFP

New data has just been published that reveals just how devastating the coronavirus crisis has been on the Spanish economy.

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Over 600,000 jobs have been lost across Spain since the pandemic hit a year ago pushing the unemployment rate above 16 percent to over 3.7 million.

Add to that the number of workers who are currently furloughed under a scheme that has been extended yet again until May. Currently around 700,000 people fall under the ERTE and are therefore not included in unemployment figures but when the scheme ends many of those workers may find themselves joining the queue at the job centre.

This map below shows the unemployment rate in different regions of Spain, the darker the colour the higher the jobless rate. It reveals a very clear north-south divide in Spain. 

Comparing 2020 with 2019 the worst affected regions were not surprisingly those where tourism contributes a large part to the economy.

The Canary Islands saw the biggest variation in the number of people in employment with a 12 percent drop while across the Balearic Islands those employed dropped by 8.1 percent.

 

Not surprisingly either, the number of people out of work rose spectacularly in tourist hotspots. 

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The report shows that unemployment by year end rose by 75 percent in the Balearic Islands, by 36 percent in Madrid, by 32 percent in Catalonia and by 28 percent in the Canary Islands.

But unemployment actually fell in those areas that didn’t see huge infection rates during the second wave. Extremadura saw its unemployment drop by 10 percent on a year early and Murcia’s unemployment fell by 4.69 percent. 

Galicia has also seen its unemployment rate drop by 2.16 percent.

While the national rate of unemployment currently stands at 16.13 percent, it rises to 40.13 percent among under-25 year-olds. 

 

READ MORE:  Just how bad will Spain's recession be in wake of coronavirus crisis?

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