Op-ed: Economy continues to free fall

Minister of Labor Valeriano Gómez indicated that August unemployment data will not improve the overall outlook for Spain, despite a successful summer season that has brought a 4% increase in tourism and a substantial increase in summer jobs.

Adding to this bad news, new mortgages have dropped 42% to the lowest levels since the crisis began. Both the credit and labor markets are at a standstill.

What does Gómez have to say about this? He thinks that companies are taking advantage of unemployment benefits and using them to pay for summer workers.

So will all these jobs still be here in September? Statements like this underscore the federal government's inability to trust employers as valid agents for generating employment.