Spain to remain employment ‘paradox’

9 March 2004

MADRID – Spain is to create 90 percent of new jobs in the European Union in the first part of this year, according to a report by a leading recruitment consultant.

But Adecco said that Spain would continue to have one of the highest rates of unemployment in the EU.

A report by the prestigious business school IESE for Adecco compared the situation in Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

These countries represent 85 percent of the total GDP of the EU.

According to the study, in the past year, Spain supplied nine out of ten new jobs in the EU.

It claims this pattern would continue in the first half of 2004.

The number of people in work rose by three percent in Spain in 2003 – compared with the year before.

This made the rise in the number of people in work seven times better than other countries in the EU analysed in the report.
 
The report pointed out that this meant Spain was in the paradoxical situation where at the same time the economy had created the most jobs in Europe but had the highest rate of unemployment (11.2 percent).

Adecco said it hoped for a “gradual acceleration” in the creation of employment while the economy strengthened.

Spain is expected to be the only one of the six countries analysed which could slow down in terms of creating jobs.

The unemployment level will not fall below 11 percent even though the country will continue to see the highest level of job creation.

In 2004, there should be 922,000 new jobs created in Europe in the first third of the year – or 0.7 percent more than the same period last year.

This will rise to 1.1 million in the second part – or 0.8 percent more than in this part of 2003. The report also said 541,000 more jobs will be created in the first part of the year.

The level of unemployment is expected to fall to 8.5 percent and then to 8.2 percent in the second third of the year.

In Spain the number of women in work should rise by  5.2 percent – the largest increase in Europe.

The level of youth unemployment should be 15.7 percent in the first quarter of 2004 – compared with 16.4 percent in the last part of 2003.

But in Spain the level of people under 25 out of work will rise to 23.3 percent in the first half of 2004 – though the average for the EU is 16 percent.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news