Unemployment Journal April 27th

This article is particularly important because it provides a brief update/reminder of the current economic state of affairs in Spain. Currently, unemployment in Spain has reached over 20% (actual figure is 20.05%)...this reality highlights the ever-present crisis that Spain finds itself entangled within (over 4 4.5 million individuals are without jobs). This is a staggering figure to say the least and is certainly something that Zapatero and his administration are scratching their heads over. It is particularly troubling to note that unemployment rates are “higher than they were in the 90s” – seems as if Spain has taken a step back in terms of progress.
Although Zapatero promises that changes are going to be seen in April, I seriously question this strong statement – we have a phrase in America for this sort of announcement, “ he is just blowing smoke up everyone’s assess.” I guess the easiest translation for this would be that he is just bullshitting the populace in an effort to divert their attention from the reality of everything (something that politicians have always been very good at). Regardless if changes happen or not, you have to wonder how this pressing issue is going to impact Spain in the long run. Furthermore, is the rest of the EU going to take Spain seriously for much longer? If I remember correctly, I think Spain is currently “managing” the EU’s economic situation at this point in time (responsibility rotates every 6 months I believe between members of the EU – a way to “share the burden”). The question that comes to my mind, and likely the minds of many individuals within the EU is quite simple, “How can a country that cannot figure out its own economic problems solve the more complex economic complications of the EU?”
Hopefully, things will begin to turn around for Spain and unemployment will steadily drop over the next few months/years. We must not forget that the entire world is currently recovering from a bit of a recession so these sort of things take time; however, I think it is pretty safe to say that an unemployment rate of over 20% must be quite disappointing/humbling for the Spanish people. I think Spain is only second in Europe (in terms of unemployment rate) to Latvia. I don’t think that is a country that many people want to be compared to, no matter what the comparison…
http://www.lavanguardia.es/economia/noticias/20100427/53917775056/zapatero-admite-que-la-tasa-del-paro-es-demasiado-alta-aunque-augura--que-comenzara-a-bajar-en-abril.html