Share

Spain's plan to get youth back to work

Madrid - Spain pledged €3.5bn over four years on Tuesday to easing mass unemployment among the country's youth, as the government tries to stem a relentless tide of layoffs and lengthening jobless queues.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy presented 100 different measures including tax breaks for young freelance workers and for companies that hire workers in their twenties.

Many of the measures, such as lower social security payments for young self-employed workers and up-front payment of unemployment benefits for entrepreneurs, had been announced previously.

On Tuesday they were wrapped into a single strategy.

During five years of economic stagnation and recession, Spain's unemployment rate has risen to 26% - the highest level since the 1970s and one of the highest in the European Union - and more than half of 18-25 year olds are out of work.

More and more young Spaniards are studying German and English and heading abroad to find work.

Public anger is growing over austerity measures to tackle government overspending, which have aggravated economic problems, and over €40bn in public debt spent on rescuing banks that loaned too freely to builders during a real estate boom that ended in 2008.

With more than 5 million people out of work, job losses have accelerated in the first months of 2013.

Spain's 35 blue chip companies have announced more than 35 000 layoffs so far this year, compared with 18 000 layoffs by the same companies last year, according to a report in El Economista newspaper.

Rajoy spoke to an audience of union, company and government representatives at the Moncloa government palace.

But labour union leaders did not wait to hear the details before expressing scepticism over the new strategy.

"If the government does not re-orient its economic policy to make growth and jobs a priority instead of deficit cutting, the effects of the plan will have a limited effect and the economic recession and job destruction will continue," Spain's two biggest union federations, CCOO and UGT said in a statement just before Rajoy made the announcement.

Rajoy has said that any stimulus measures for the economy and jobs will not undermine his determination to cut the budget deficit in line with EU demands.

The government has trimmed the budget by tens of billions of euros this year and last, cutting public sector wages and limiting health and education spending at a time when the economy is shrinking an estimated 1.5% per year.

A third of the funding for the jobs plans will come from a European Special Fund, Rajoy said.     

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.82
+0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.38
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.30
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.3%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders