Spain’s total unemployment is up 3.55% in March 2009. Among the different regions Andalucia and Valencia have the highest rate while the Balearic Islands have the lowest rate. Unemployment is almost evenly distributed among the genders with men slightly higher by approximately 3,000. Sectors most affected are the service industries, construction, and agriculture.
Unemployment rose 2.57% in Andalucia alone in March, according to Spain’s Labor Ministry. The total number of Andalucians unemplopyed is now over 794,000.
There are more than 19 million unemployed in the European Union, including 13 million alone in those nations using the Euro, according to Eurostat. Spain topped the list with 15.5 % while the Netherlands had the lowest rate at 2.7%. Analyst fear that by June 2009 nearly half of the European Union’s newly unemployed will be Spaniards.