The crisis is far from over

Don’t tell people in Alicante province that the economy is recovering because they will only laugh at you. During the first quarter of this year, 14,500 more joined the unemployment list bringing the total to 236,000 and the rate to 26.42%.

Several factors contributed to this rise. Firstly,  a further 4,200 alacantinos presented themselves for work. Then there were 10,300 jobs lost following Christmas – these were seasonal jobs in the tourist industry. The losses occurred in all sectors except construction where an increase in foreign buyers has helped to create new work.

There will be improvement in the summer season and of course there was improvement during Easter but those figures are not reflected in the above. The high dependency on tourism is the main cause of the problem however, there have been losses in industry and agriculture.