SPAIN : 4 M Unemployed

The number of Spanish unemployed rose sharply in the first quarter of this year to more than 4m, confirming Spain’s position as the European Union state worst affected by job losses during the global economic crisis.

Unemployment rose to 4.01m, or 17.4 per cent of the workforce, up from 13.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, the National Statistics Institute said Friday.

The figures are worse than expected and will come as a blow to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Socialist prime minister.

Where are we planning to be in 2010 MR Zapatero ?