Spanish economy plunges in final quarter of last year
Spain’s economy shrank at the fastest pace in more than three years in the final quarter of last year, casting a shadow over the prospects of nearly six million unemployed.
Spain’s economy shrank at the fastest pace in more than three years in the final quarter of last year, official data showed on Wednesday, casting a shadow over the prospects of nearly six million unemployed.
Total economic output slumped 0.7 per cent from the previous quarter, the steepest decline since the second quarter of 2009, after a 0.3-per cent dip the previous quarter.
The report by the National Statistics Institute showed the recession, which started in the final months of 2011, still tightening its grip on the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.
Just days earlier, a separate report showed Spain’s unemployment rate shot to 26.02 per cent in the fourth quarter – the highest level since the re-birth of Spanish democracy after death of General Francisco Franco in 1975 – as 5.97 million people sought in vain for work.
Latest figures also showed that gross domestic product for the whole of last year declined by 1.37 per cent, slightly better than the 1.5-per cent contraction predicted by the government.
“Amongst all the bad news, this figure is a bit better than expected,” said Gayle Allard, economist at IE Business School.
“I have hope that this was the worst quarter. From here on we will improve. Businesses are doing what they have to do: seeking an exit through foreign markets,” Allard added.
