Despite the rhetoric of regional and national governments that Spain is on the road to recovery, statistics issued from Brussels, and they have time enough on their hands to get it right, paint a somewhat contrasting picture.
According to a report published on Tuesday, Spanish regions now occupy the top five places on the EU list in terms of unemployment, the first time this has ever happened.
Based upon the unemployment rates at the end of 2013, the table looks like this:
- Andalucia (36.3%)
- Ceuta (35.6%)
- Melilla (34.4%)
- Canary Islands (34.1%)
- Extremadura (33.7%)
- West Macedonia (Greece) (31.8%)
- Castilla-La Mancha (30.1%)
- Central Macedonia (Greece) (30.0%)
- Murcia (29.4%)
- Reunión (France) 28.9%
In terms of youth unemployment ( 15 to 24 years), Ceuta came top of the list with 72.7%. Andalucia has 66.1%, Extremadura 61.7% and Castilla-La Mancha 61.6%.
Average unemployment in the EU is 10.8% – Greece registers an overall 37.5% and Spain an overall 26.03%.