Projections for the upcoming summer tourism season couldn´t be better. The crisis in northern Africa and the economic upturn in several European countries have increased hotel demand in Spain. Sadly, this optimism has not yet translated into new jobs as initially expected.
Last June the number of people without a job fell by 67,858 to a total of 4.12 million. A good result if we take in consideration that unemployment has come down by 212,000 people during the second quarter. This is the highest decrease in history during such period, as Luz Maria Rodriguez, secretary of State for Employment, explained.
However, if we take a closer look at the data, optimism quickly vanishes. June trend is worse than last years, when the number of unemployed people fell by 83,834. Also, during that time, the tourist expectations were not as favorable as currently is. We must keep in mind that summer recruitment campaigns are normally held during April, May and June.
The cucumber crisis
Agriculture suffered the biggest unemployment rise last month. If June is usually a period where the farm payrolls suffer from a slight increase in unemployment, this year has surpassed all time highs. Since 1997, the first time data was recorded, there has not been a similar increase: a total of 4,125 people lost their jobs. Of course, this time the the cucumber crisis is to blame.
Translated and Edited in English by Jose L. De Haro