Zapatero expects rise in employment figures for March

 

Spain's Prime Minister addressed parliament earlier today, speaking of how he was confident that the country's unemployment figure would fall during the month of March.

"It's obvious that we will not have an economic recovery without a recovery in employment, but we are convinced that we will be capable of recapturing jobs".

Although he was optimistic about the future, he acknowledged that it would be a difficult task.

"This recovery and the better figures will undoubtedly begin from this month," he said.

The country's rate of unemployment at the close of 2010 stood at 20.3% , which is the highest in the European Union, and beyond the government target of 19.4% for the year.

The jobless figure increased rose for the second month in a row last month to reach the highest figure since comparable records began fifteen years ago.

The Spanish economy slipped into its worst recession in decades in late 2008. It emerged early last year with very slight growth rates in the first half of last year and posted a contraction of 0.1 percent for all of 2010.