Unemployment rose by 132,055 in January as Social Security contributions fell by 263,243. These figures indicate that the number of workers contributing to the system (16,179,428 currently) has fallen to levels from ten years ago.
Low spirits are evident among the working population. Unemployment benefits only cover 64.05% of unemployed workers, which is several points lower than at the beginning of the crisis. And the number of workers seeking early retirement has risen 14%. The only positive aspect of the Ministry of Labor's numbers is that they are slightly better than a year ago. Job recovery is still progressing slowly, and the most hopeful news for the next few months is that job loss slows down.
