Unemployment soars to 20.3% in Spain, a 14-year high

Madrid, Spain (AHN) – Spain’s unemployment rate reached a 14-year high of 21.3 percent during the first three months of the year, up from 20.3 percent for the last three months of 2010.

The economy lost more jobs during the first quarter than it had during the entire year of 2010.

That boosted the number of jobless people to 4.9 million and government officials say they do not expect to see much in the way of job creation until the end of the year.

In addition, the economy has been depressed and Spain’s government has instituted stringent austerity measures in an attempt to deal with high public debt and deficits.

The austerity measures are not helping the economy to revive.

Retail sales fell by 8.6 percent in April compared to a year earlier. In addition, inflation rose by 3.5 percent in from the 3.3 percent rate in March.

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