"We are not the ones firing people," said Secretary of the State of Social Security, Octavio Granado, when questioned about why employment continues to fall in Spain. "Those doing all the firing should be the ones fielding that question," he said. With this phrase, he tried to exculpate the federal government from the blame of 4,226 workers losing their jobs.
Unemployment keeps growing and there is still one more quarter to go. It could be "the worst on record" according to Minister of Labor Valeriano Gómez. In the first nine months of the year, 150,000 Spanish workers lost their job. With these figures, the ministry confirmed yesterday that it will be difficult to create 40,000 new positions by the end of the year. This number was previously expected.
Clearly, September has been no exception to a disappointing trend. 95,817 workers were laid off this month, setting a new historic record for monthly job losses. It was the worst September in 15 years. More than 4.2 million Spanish workers are without a job at this time. All regions in the country are stagnant, except for the Canary Islands (their tourism season lasts longer than on the peninsula) and Castilla-La Mancha and Rioja (the grape harvest is still happening).
How is it possible that after three years of shattered employment and a strong tourism season this year, jobs are still slipping away? The federal government's explanation was clear: rising unemployment stems from regional government spending cutbacks. Although they also conceded that it may have something to do with the summer break.
