Data Forecasts Spanish Unemployment Drops Below 17% for First Time in Years

Data Forecasts Spanish Unemployment Drops Below 17% for First Time in Years

Its official when the economy is moving in the right

direction unemployment drops drastically

Spain saw unemployment soar to the record rate of 27% in 2013, but is now looking at ending 2017 with less than 17% unemployment for the first time in years.

While there is still the myth that the Spanish economy is still stagnant, official figures from government and European bodies show that Spain has been one of the strongest economic performers in the continent for the past 18 months now.

While 17% unemployment could still be considered pretty high, in relative terms it means Spain is on course for another year of strong economic growth. The rate of unemployment fell to 18.6% in 2016, and it’s predicted that it could fall another 2% during 2017; which would mean over half a million more people in work.

This was the message spread by the Spanish Economic Minister Luis de Guindos last week. The Economic Minister admitted that the unemployment rate in the country was still inadequate, but was still very bullish overall on the long-term prospects.

Economic growth topped 3.2% GDP in 2016, with similar levels of growth expected for this year, and a further +2.5% growth expected for the next four years. The queues in the job centre are getting shorter, and thousands of educated Spanish youth are returning from Germany, the UK, and wherever else they have been, creating what economists feel is more of an opportunity than a burden.

Youth unemployment in Spain is still one of the highest in Europe, reaching over 25%, but there has been plenty of recovery in other industries; evident by the rising number of Spaniards being issued with mortgages. This has left the Spanish youth more confident about their chances of securing a bright future in their home country.

British Tourists Spend 17% More Money in Spain

British Tourists Spend 17% More Money in Spain

Brits love affair with Spain continues to flourish and always will

The Spanish economy was boosted in November of 2016 by about €4.91 thanks to tourism, an increase of 8.3% over 2015. Despite the damage done to the pound/euro conversion rate by Brexit, Brits are spending around 17% more per head during their Spanish holiday in November compared to November of last year.

The data comes from the National Statistics Institute (INE) and it shows British tourists in Spain spent around €776 million in November 2016. This was not just an improvement over the figures from last year, but it also accounted for 18.5% of all the money spent by tourists that month.

The interesting thing is that while there were more British tourists, the number was only up 12.5%, meaning that Brits are opening their wallets more with an average spend of €120 per day and €895 per holiday. The only thing that shrunk was the length of the average stay. Brits went from staying in Spain for an average of 8 days in the country to an average of 7.5 days.

Overall the Spanish economy received a boost of €4.91billion from tourism spending in November 2016, an increase of 8.3% on 2015. German tourists pumped €530 million of their own into the country, followed by Scandinavians with €482 million and the French with €291 million.

In terms of regional spending the most money was spent in the Canary Islands thanks to the promise of sun and sand in Winter; almost a third of all spending from tourists in November happened in the Canary Islands.

When analysing all 11 months of 2016 leading to the end of November, the amount of tourist spending in 2016 was pretty impressive. Expenditure was up 8.4% over the same period in 2015 or a massive total of €73.1 billion, of which just over 20% came from British tourists; proving that British tourists remain a key part of Spanish tourism.