Spain\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s public debt reaches USD 1.2 trillion in the early months of 2013.<\/p>\n
New official data have revealed that Spain’s public debt has hit a new record high amid the worsening financial crisis in the country.\n<\/p>\n
The data released by the government on Friday showed that the country\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s public debt reached USD 1.2 trillion in the early months of this year.\n<\/p>\n
This is equivalent to 88 percent of Spain\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s gross domestic product (GDP).\n<\/p>\n
The Spanish economy, the fourth biggest in the EU bloc, had its public debt level standing at 84.1 percent of GDP at the end of 2012.\n<\/p>\n
Economists consider the increase as an extension of the worsening economic problems with which the EU member state has been struggling for years.\n<\/p>\n
The Spanish government expects the country\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s public debt level to rise even further to 90.5 percent of GDP at the end of 2013.\n<\/p>\n
This is while, the country\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s unemployment rate stands at 27 percent and is the second highest in the European Union after Greece.\n<\/p>\n
Among the youth, the number is even worse with a staggering 56.4 percent of young Spaniards being unemployed.\n<\/p>\n
The high number of jobless youths has led many of them to move to other countries in search of work.\n<\/p>\n
Analysts say that even if the country comes out of recession next year, job creation could lag until much later.\n<\/p>\n
On May 3, credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, said it predicted Spain\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s unemployment rate to peak at 28.5 percent in the first quarter of 2014 as government measures such as wage-setting reforms take effect and a contraction in industrial output reaches its limit.\n<\/p>\n
Deteriorating economic situation in Europe has created growing discontent among the European public, with many nations across the continent grappling with teetering economies.\n<\/p>\n
The European financial crisis began in early 2008. Insolvency now threatens heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Spain.\n<\/p>\n
MAM\/SS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n