Spain Industrial Output Falls for 14th consecutive month

 

Industrial production in Spain, the euro-area's 4th largest economy, dropped for the 14th straight month in October, fueling job cuts that have already left over 25% of the workforce unemployed.

Output at factories, refineries and mines adjusted for the number of working days fell 3.3% from a year earlier, after declining a revised 7.5% in September, the National Statistics Institute (INE) in Madrid said in an e-mailed statement today. Economists forecast a drop of 6.4%, according to the median of eight estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

Spanish unemployment will rise to 27% next year amid a deepening recession, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said last week. The IMF and the European Commission have ruled out more budget cuts for now as Spain struggles to rein in the 2nd-largest deficit in the 17-nation euro region.

Amper SA, the Spanish manufacturer of telecommunications and electronic equipment, said on Nov. 26 it plans to cut 210 jobs in the country. Vodafone, the world's 2nd largest mobile-phone company, last month said that a €5.9 billion writedown in Spain and Italy caused a first-half net loss.

In unadjusted terms, industrial production rose 0.6 percent in October from a year earlier after a revised 12.1% drop in September.

The statistics institute originally reported a drop in adjusted production in September of 7%.