Spain: Record Unemployment as Economic Crisis Deepens

April 27, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

More people are out of work in Spain now than at any time since records began. The new figures, announced on Friday, show that almost a quarter of the workforce are now unemployed. It comes just a day after ratings agency Standard and Poor's cut the country's credit rating two notches to Class B. with warnings that the country's economy could get worse. Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego reports now from Madrid.

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Spain

Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union . It is located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibral... Explore this topic

Unemployment

Unemployment occurs when people are without work and actively seeking work. The unemployment rate is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in the labor forc... Explore this topic

European sovereign debt crisis

The European sovereign debt crisis is an ongoing financial crisis that has made it difficult or impossible for some countries in the euro area to repay or re-finance their government debt without the assistance of third parties. In 1992, members of the European Union signed th... Explore this topic

Economy of Spain

The economy of Spain is the twelfth-largest economy in the world, based on nominal GDP comparisons, and the fifth-largest in Europe. It is regarded as the world's 23th most developed country. Until 2008 the economy of Spain had been regarded as one of the most dynamic within t... Explore this topic

Austerity

In economics, austerity describes policies used by governments to reduce budget deficits during adverse economic conditions. These policies can include spending cuts, tax increases, or a mixture of the two. Austerity policies may be attempts to demonstrate governments' liquidi... Explore this topic

Credit rating

Рейтинг є процедурою оцінки особи, підриємства або держави. В банківській справі рейтинг рівнозначний оцінці платоспроможності боржника. Для надання такої оцінки використовуються певні показники, які розраховуються за допомогою власних критеріїв банку або ж рейтингових агенств... Explore this topic

Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's is an American financial services company. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. S&P is known for its stock market indices such as the U.S.-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, ... Explore this topic

Eurozone

The eurozone, officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of 17 European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender. The eurozone currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France,... Explore this topic

Bailout

A bailout is a colloquial pejorative term for giving a loan to a company or country which faces serious financial difficulty or bankruptcy. It may also be used to allow a failing entity to fail gracefully without spreading contagion. The term is maritime in origin being the ac... Explore this topic

2011-2013 Spanish Protests

The 2011–present Spanish protests, also referred to as the 15-M Movement, the Indignants Movement, and Take the Square #spanishrevolution are a series of ongoing demonstrations in Spain whose origin can be traced to social networks such as Real Democracy NOW or Youth Without a... Explore this topic

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