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Fri 04 Apr 2009Spanish unemployment hits 4 million
Spanish unemployment soared to 4 million in the first quarter, almost doubling in a year as the recession destroys jobs more quickly than anywhere else in Europe, official data showed today.
The unemployment rate of 17.4 per cent announced by the National Statistics Institute, up from 13.9 per cent a quarter earlier and already higher than the Bank of Spain's forecast of a maximum of 17.1 per cent for the year will be a major embarrassment for Spain's Socialist government.
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