# Unemployment up



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Yep, it's up again.
Spain's jobless queue rises in first quarter


> Unemployment in Spain rose to 21 percent over the first three months of the year, official statistics showed Thursday, an increase that was quickly shrugged off by acting Economy Minister Luis de Guindos.Spain is only just emerging from a damaging crisis that has seen its unemployment rate rise to dizzying heights -- second only to Greece in the European Union -- and the ruling conservatives have made creating jobs one of their priorities as fresh elections loom.


Everybody knows Greece's situation is still bad. Why don't people know about Spain? Why do people think that Spain is still the place to go "for a better quality of life?"


> Last year, the Spanish economy, the eurozone's fourth largest, expanded by 3.2 percent -- one of the fastest growing rates in Europe.
> Unemployment also dropped to 20.9 percent in the last quarter of 2015, although critics said many of the jobs created were precarious and poorly paid.


Obvious to all those here who really wanted to know ie if you want you can stick your head in the sand and listen to the government telling you how many jobs they've created, and if you want you can also speak to people who are working in under these new crap conditions
https://www.thespainreport.com/arti...spain-back-up-to-21-in-first-quarter-says-ine


> The new unemployment total for Spain is 4.79 million people.
> All of Spain's southern regions reported unemployment rates greater than 21% and Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla La Mancha, the Canary Islands and the two North African cities, Ceuta and Melilla, reported rates greater than 25%.
> In the North, the Basque Country, La Rioja and Navarra reported unemployment rates lower than 15%.


ONLY 15% so head north young man


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Everybody knows Greece's situation is still bad. Why don't people know about Spain? Why do people think that Spain is still the place to go "for a better quality of life?"


Because they have this odd notion of something called 'the Spanish dream'?


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Probably recently watched the businesses in the sun programme were several were featured successfully (allegedly) running B&Bs?


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

The figures for the first quarter should have been better as they include the usual Semana Santa bounce instead of April.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Isobella said:


> The figures for the first quarter should have been better as they include the usual Semana Santa bounce instead of April.


Exactly


----------



## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Spain's jobless queue rises in first quarter


From the article...



> The rise was triggered mainly by a drop in temporary contracts compared to the previous quarter.
> 
> But there were 52,400 more workers on stable, fixed-term contracts.


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

In Sur today it said that the province of Malaga saw 9000 foreign residents leave last year, 5598 of them British. Sounds a lot. I know there are usual reasons like death, divorce etc. But surely a lot must have left because of work reasons:confused2:


La provincia pierde en un año más de 9.000 habitantes extranjeros . SUR.es


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Chopera said:


> From the article...


And this from the original article in El País...:noidea:


> “Si se acelera la creación de empleo, como está pasando, cuando economía se frena, esto prueba que la productividad de los empleos que se están creando es muy baja. Son malos. El modelo está yendo a lo de siempre”. Un dato que sostiene esta afirmación es la evolución del empleo temporal en el último año. En solo 13 meses, el número de trabajadores con un contrato eventual ha crecido un 10%, al pasar de 3,4 millones a 3,7. La tasa de temporalidad se sitúa así en el 25%, casi 1,5 puntos porcentuales más que en el mismo periodo del año anterior.


EPA: España sufre su periodo más largo con el paro por encima del 20% | Economía | EL PAÃ�S
I hear much more about worsening conditions than improvemnts in working conditions from my clients. What about you?


----------



## GreenGreen88 (Apr 22, 2016)

I wonder how much of this is regional. 

Here in Barcelona the crisis just doesn't seem to touch the city (and I mean the city proper) in the same way it seems to in the South.

Perhaps its just the friends I have? I know a lot of people I am friends with wish they were making more but have little problem making due with their salaries. 

A friend of mine from Malaga was missing home last year. He decided to go back to Malaga for two weeks and look for a job there. The salaries he was offered for the same kind of job he has in Barcelona were as low as 1/3 the pay he receives here. He's also switched jobs within the same field 2 times in the last 2 years and never stayed unemployed while looking for more than a month.


----------



## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Isobella said:


> In Sur today it said that the province of Malaga saw 9000 foreign residents leave last year, 5598 of them British. Sounds a lot. I know there are usual reasons like death, divorce etc. But surely a lot must have left because of work reasons:confused2:
> 
> 
> La provincia pierde en un año más de 9.000 habitantes extranjeros . SUR.es


Maybe they're coming here. Earlier this week I read that Madrid has gained 6,000 extra foreigners in the last year, and that's after 17,434 took Spanish citizenship.

Rise in expats in Madrid for first time since before the crisis


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

GreenGreen88 said:


> I wonder how much of this is regional.
> 
> Here in Barcelona the crisis just doesn't seem to touch the city (and I mean the city proper) in the same way it seems to in the South.
> 
> ...


Of course the figures differ from region to region and yes, Andalucia is much worse than Catalonia
EPA - Encuesta de Población Activa de las Comunidades Autónomas 2016 | datosmacro.com


----------



## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> And this from the original article in El País...:noidea:
> 
> EPA: España sufre su periodo más largo con el paro por encima del 20% | Economía | EL PAÃ�S
> *I hear much more about worsening conditions than improvemnts in working conditions from my clients. What about you?*


I don't speak to enough people outside of my company (well now it's my ex-company) to really tell. Certain parts of the banking sector are a bit stuck at the moment because of the situation with the government (or lack thereof). There are rumours that more banks were due to be merged after the last election, but that has been put on hold until the next election. The IT sector seems to be ok from what I can tell, but that sector always had slightly worse conditions because it's new and doesn't have the convenios with the unions. People in banks might complain about worsening conditions because they lose their horario de verano for example, but the IT sector never had it in the first place.


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Better news for April, with 83,000 fewer registered unemployed, and 160,000 more people paying Social Security contributions. Strange, when Easter fell earlier this year and yet the March figures weren't good.

El paro baja en 83.599 personas en abril tras crearse casi 160.000 empleos | Economía | EL PAÃ�S


----------



## webmarcos (Dec 25, 2012)

Lynn R said:


> Better news for April, with 83,000 fewer registered unemployed, and 160,000 more people paying Social Security contributions. Strange, when Easter fell earlier this year and yet the March figures weren't good.
> 
> El paro baja en 83.599 personas en abril tras crearse casi 160.000 empleos | Economía | EL PAÃ�S


Good to see the economy taking off again.
I wonder though if most of this may be down to the tourist season starting, as Spain is seen as a safer option than say Turkey or Egypt? Of course it may also be the construction industry coming out of the doldrums now that sales are up in Spain.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> Better news for April, with 83,000 fewer registered unemployed, and 160,000 more people paying Social Security contributions. Strange, when Easter fell earlier this year and yet the March figures weren't good.
> 
> El paro baja en 83.599 personas en abril tras crearse casi 160.000 empleos | Economía | EL PAÃ�S


Yeah, I don't get it. It seems they make it up as they seem fit. Surely not


----------



## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

I did have to titter a bit at some of the responses from people currently enjoying (or maybe not it seems) the Spanish way of life. 

Don't be under the illusion that anybody about to move to Spain thinks it's going to be a dream come true, blinkered eyes and ready to jump in feet first and open a bar in Fuengirola , some might but I'm sure not all. Nor is everybody watching an edition of A Place in the Sun and boarding a plane looking for the errrrr dream. 

I would imagine most will be retiring with a pension and income in place. A lot will keep a place in their home country through choice as a fall back and or income top up. Some already have family living there and are well aware of some of the pitfalls. Also some like Spain , the people and the climate and would like to give it a go. 

Mind you an alternative could be stay at home and continue on as is. Generalisation is a funny thing. I may have read the responses wrong, sorry if I have.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Roy C said:


> I did have to titter a bit at some of the responses from people currently enjoying (or maybe not it seems) the Spanish way of life.
> 
> Don't be under the illusion that anybody about to move to Spain thinks it's going to be a dream come true, blinkered eyes and ready to jump in feet first and open a bar in Fuengirola , some might but I'm sure not all. Nor is everybody watching an edition of A Place in the Sun and boarding a plane looking for the errrrr dream.
> 
> ...


Maybe you have, not knowing which posts you've looked at, but just looking in the last couple of days there have been 6 posts asking about coming to Spain to live and 3 of those were people looking for work. Of course, all are coming for a life improvement...


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I see Mercadona are taking on 1,000 more temporary staff for the summer than they did last year (5,000 in total for this year) and they will receive a net monthly salary of €1,109. Hopefully it's a sign of improvement in general. If nothing else, perhaps it will provide an opportunity for some of those young people who have never been able to find a job to gain some experience.

Mercadona contratará en verano a 5.000 personas para reforzar la plantilla | Economía | EL PAÃ�S


----------



## jacochipiona (Jul 19, 2013)

Hi All,

We own a small language school and just for interest sake I ask the adult students to give me the names of 10 of their best friends, and tell me how many are working, what jobs they are doing. After all was said and done, 80% are working, not always for what they studied for, but they are working. And more will work during the summer. We are in Cadiz province.

Again, very unscientific, it was just an exercise to get them talking, but interesting.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

It seems likely that Renault will be investing more than 600m€ in a new generation of vehicles in Valladolid as they have reached a preliminary agreement
Preacuerdo para que Renault asigne un nuevo vehículo a Valladolid | Economía | EL PAÃ�S


----------



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jacochipiona said:


> Hi All,
> 
> We own a small language school and just for interest sake I ask the adult students to give me the names of 10 of their best friends, and tell me how many are working, what jobs they are doing. After all was said and done, 80% are working, not always for what they studied for, but they are working. And more will work during the summer. We are in Cadiz province.
> 
> Again, very unscientific, it was just an exercise to get them talking, but interesting.


Chipiona - a very popular beach resort with lots of market gardens in the surrounding area, so I'm guessing it's not typical of the province. I am inland and in my husband's English class it's the other way round I'm afraid. The only ones who have found work have had to go abroad.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I'm beginning to think I live in 1984. I listen to the radio a lot and the tourism figures are quoted on an almost daily basis and 8 times out of 10 they are going up. Occasionally they go down, but the following day, for no given reason we are in *record* figures - again.

The unemployment figures are also frequently quoted and a magical figure was reached last month. Unemployment is now below 4 million:cheer2:
Spanish job market: Jobless claims in Spain fall to below four million, the best figure since 2010 | In English | EL PAÃ�S

Diario Público[]=article&contentTypes[]=video&contentTypes[]=gallery&contentTypes[]=opinion&publishedAt[from]=&publishedAt[until]=

So do we see that as a glass half full - Yippee, below 4 million, so much better than the 6 million peak we had.
Or glass half empty - so many people out of work still and those who are working are working in such precarious conditions.
:confused2::noidea::confused2:


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Still good news though. Although the election is near. Could it be that the jobless *claims* have gone down because they have been unemployed for so long they cease to be counted?


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

I saw on the webpage Rajoy seems to be speaking in forked tongues. He tells the Spanish he will cut taxes and writes to the EU that he will introduce extra measures to cut the budget:confused2:


----------



## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Spain*



Pesky Wesky said:


> I'm beginning to think I live in 1984. I listen to the radio a lot and the tourism figures are quoted on an almost daily basis and 8 times out of 10 they are going up. Occasionally they go down, but the following day, for no given reason we are in *record* figures - again.
> 
> The unemployment figures are also frequently quoted and a magical figure was reached last month. Unemployment is now below 4 million:cheer2:
> Spanish job market: Jobless claims in Spain fall to below four million, the best figure since 2010 | In English | EL PAÃ�S
> ...


I lived above a very busy restaurant in Cadiz for 18 months and come October little by little the waiters started to disappear and by Xmas there were only three or four, although several were brought back for carnival and by the end of April/May little by little they returned with the arrival of the tourists and especially the cruise ships. I suppose during the winter they just lived on el paro.
I do have a question for you Pesky.
What happens to a waiter who has worked full time for say five months of the year when he eventually retires assuming he does it voluntarily. What kind of pension can he expect?


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Justina said:


> I lived above a very busy restaurant in Cadiz for 18 months and come October little by little the waiters started to disappear and by Xmas there were only three or four, although several were brought back for carnival and by the end of April/May little by little they returned with the arrival of the tourists and especially the cruise ships. I suppose during the winter they just lived on el paro.
> I do have a question for you Pesky.
> What happens to a waiter who has worked full time for say five months of the year when he eventually retires assuming he does it voluntarily. What kind of pension can he expect?


I have no idea, but someone on here will!
I wouldn't be surprised if a large number of people in similar situations got nothing as a lot of what they were paid would have been undeclared anyway.

A question for you Justina.
Does nobody in the UK refer to getting paid "under the table" nowadays? Does it depend on the region/ age/ class of the person??


----------



## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Employment*



Pesky Wesky said:


> I have no idea, but someone on here will!
> I wouldn't be surprised if a large number of people in similar situations got nothing as a lot of what they were paid would have been undeclared anyway.
> 
> A question for you Justina.
> Does nobody in the UK refer to getting paid "under the table" nowadays? Does it depend on the region/ age/ class of the person??


I haven't been in the UK in the last five years, but it was a common term for undeclared income and doubt it had a region or class divide. Perhaps someone on the forum will know an update of the term.


----------



## webmarcos (Dec 25, 2012)

Justina said:


> I haven't been in the UK in the last five years, but it was a common term for undeclared income and doubt it had a region or class divide. Perhaps someone on the forum will know an update of the term.


If a builder or plumber asks to be paid in cash, then the assumption is it's undeclared money. Huge in London, but I know other parts of England where the tradesmen "appear" to be more honest with the taxman. Also known as the black economy. Very hard to really know how big it is, because obviously it's hidden trade.


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

webmarcos said:


> If a builder or plumber asks to be paid in cash, then the assumption is it's undeclared money. Huge in London, but I know other parts of England where the tradesmen "appear" to be more honest with the taxman. Also known as the black economy. Very hard to really know how big it is, because obviously it's hidden trade.


It's also common for people who have full time jobs and pay PAYE to do other work, either casual jobs or small businesses "on the side", undeclared. I speak of the North West of England where I have family members I know to do this, and they all have "mates" they can call on to do jobs for them in the evenings or at weekends, cash in hand.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

webmarcos said:


> If a builder or plumber asks to be paid in cash, then the assumption is it's undeclared money. Huge in London, but I know other parts of England where the tradesmen "appear" to be more honest with the taxman. Also known as the black economy. Very hard to really know how big it is, because obviously it's hidden trade.





Lynn R said:


> It's also common for people who have full time jobs and pay PAYE to do other work, either casual jobs or small businesses "on the side", undeclared. I speak of the North West of England where I have family members I know to do this, and they all have "mates" they can call on to do jobs for them in the evenings or at weekends, cash in hand.


Yes, I was just wondering about the terminology as I've noticed that on the forum I seem to be the only one who says "pay under the table"


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes, I was just wondering about the terminology as I've noticed that on the forum I seem to be the only one who says "pay under the table"


I've certainly used in the past. Not sure if I've used it here on the forum.

Although I guess it isn't very PC, 'working on the black' seems to be the most usual idiomatic way of saying it these days


----------



## mono (Jan 22, 2016)

The vast majority of employees here in Scotland are paid through PAYE so al taxes deducted. Last year it became law for alll legit businesses llarge and small to have a works pension scheme for all their employees


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mono said:


> The vast majority of employees here in Scotland are paid through PAYE so al taxes deducted.


So they are in England, but that doesn't stop those employees undertaking other work or self-employment in their spare time and not declaring those earnings. Such as (all cases I know of personally) making celebration cakes, writing bespoke software, painting and decorating, joinery, plumbing, making things and selling them at craft fairs and on e-bay, and buying tickets for concerts and events then reselling them at higher prices.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Justina said:


> I haven't been in the UK in the last five years, but it was a common term for undeclared income and doubt it had a region or class divide. Perhaps someone on the forum will know an update of the term.


The most commonly used expression in my experience is 'off the cards'.
After that, it would be 'on the side'.


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Seems to be in the hand here. Doesn't seem to happen a lot except for Gardeners. I Pay him in the hand but everyone else provides VAT receipts. I don't want expensive work done by a fly by night.

I am suspicious of our village shop. Pay cash and you never get a receipt but always if paying by debit card. Not bothered though, me da igual They are a lovely Indian family and the shop is excellent. Good luck to them.


----------



## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> The most commonly used expression in my experience is 'off the cards'.
> After that, it would be 'on the side'.


Agreed and also 'back hander' is common in the UK at least (also refers to bribes)


----------

