Unemployment passes the 4m mark

The number of unemployed people registered with the public offices of employment in Spain rose by 124,890 people in January, a 3.1% rise compared to December, meaning the total number of people out of work in Spain has now broken historic records by rising above four million, the Spanish Ministry of Work and Immigration informed on Tuesday.

Specifically, the total number of unemployed at the close of January reached a figure of 4,048,493, a highest number since records began in 1996.

The rise in unemployment this month was less marked than that of January 2008, a month in which public employment offices registered as many as 198,838 more people out of work, historically the greatest rise registered in any January. However, including January 2010, this is the sixth consecutive month in which unemployment has continued to rise.

In the last twelve months, unemployment has increased by 720,692 people, a rise of 21.6% of which 386,972 are men and 333,720 women, with relative increments of 23.1% and 20.2% respectively.

Spain''s General Employment Secretary, Maravillas Rojo, stressed in a statement that January was always a "bad month" for employment, to the point where redundancy rises "even in periods of economic growth".

Figures for the BC and Navarre

In the Basque Country, the number of unemployed suffered a rise of 7,486 people compared to December, putting the total number of unemployed at 135,687.

Specifically in January, redundancy underwent a rise of 5.84% compared to the previous month. Compared to January 2008, unemployment was up by 25,594, signifying a growth of 23.25%.

In Navarre, 2,625 people were made redundant in January, a rise compared to December of 6.46%. In total, 43,278 in Navarre are currently out of work.