Unemployment in Spain has been above 24% for several months, and there is nothing about the nation’s economy that will reverse that. The central government has complained that austerity is the cause, as have most of the country’s big unions. However, the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Union and Germany are not likely to change their view that austerity balances budgets. Spain currently vies with Greece for the highest jobless rate in Europe.

Fox Business says about the April jobless figures for Spain:

Almost 5 million Spaniards were registered as unemployed in April, data showed, as their prospects of finding work in the country with the European Union’s second highest jobless rate deteriorated further.

The number of registered jobless fell by 0.91 percent, or 46,050 people. But those gains were mainly down to restaurants and hotels gearing up for the holiday season, and in seasonally adjusted terms the number rose by 17,663 from March, Monday’s labor ministry data showed.

“The figure shows the continued weakness of the labor market and of the Spanish economy. It’s not compatible with the (government’s forecast) of a stronger economy in the second quarter of the year,” Jose Luis Martinez, a strategist at Citi in Madrid, said.

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