Spain

Spanish Unemployment Declines Further as Economy Shines

Spain’s unemployment rate fell again in the fourth quarter of 2024, likely reflecting a buoyant economy last year that was boosted by tourism, investment and immigration, the Wall Street Journal reported. Joblessness fell to 10.6% in the October-December period, down from 11.2% in the three months to September, and 11.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023, Spain’s statistics body INE said Tuesday. The number of unemployed people declined by 158,600 to 2.60 million in the quarter, the agency said.
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Spain Plans to Cut Workweek to Improve Work-Life Balance

Just days after Spain’s economy was revealed to be far outpacing its peers, Pedro Sanchez’s government has a new message for voters: stop working so much, Bloomberg News reported. In a move that risks invoking international stereotypes about the Mediterranean lifestyle, the premier and his cabinet agreed on Tuesday that employees in the fourth-biggest member of the euro zone should now have a shorter week. The cap on hours will be 37.5 as of the start of next year, down from 40 at present, if the proposed law now passes through parliament.
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Spanish Inflation Rises But ECB Still Set to Cut Rates

Consumer prices unexpectedly picked up pace in Spain in a sign inflationary pressures remain strong at the start of 2025, but likely not enough to deter the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates later Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Annual inflation, harmonized to EU standards, stood at 2.9% in January, rising one decimal point from a month earlier, Spain’s statistics agency said Thursday. Still, the rise was down largely to base effects in fuel prices, which fell in January last year, as well as a sharper rise in electricity prices.
Spain
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Spanish Unemployment Declines Further as Economy Shines

Spain’s unemployment rate fell again in the fourth quarter of 2024, likely reflecting a buoyant economy last year that was boosted by tourism, investment and immigration, the Wall Street Journal reported. Joblessness fell to 10.6% in the October-December period, down from 11.2% in the three months to September, and 11.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023, Spain’s statistics body INE said Tuesday. The number of unemployed people declined by 158,600 to 2.60 million in the quarter, the agency said.
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Spanish Inflation Ticks Higher Than Expected as ECB Mulls Rate Cuts

Inflation in Spain rose for a fourth straight month, a signal to European Central Bank policymakers that price pressures remain ahead of its first meeting of 2025 next month, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices rose 2.8% in December compared with the same month of 2023, up from 2.4% in November, according to European Union harmonized data published Monday by Spanish statistics agency INE. Base effects in energy drove the rise, though core inflation—a measure of underlying inflationary trends that excludes food and energy prices—also ticked up in December, INE said.
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Spain Opens Its Doors to China as a European Trade War Looms

In January, the Catalan regional government in Spain created a specialized desk dedicated to increasing investment and trade with China, the world’s second-largest economy. In July, the Port of Barcelona approved plans to build a terminal with direct access to the port’s railway for electric vehicles that China is exporting to Europe, the New York Times reported. Last month, during a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the Chinese wind turbine giant Envision Energy agreed to team up with his government and invest $1 billion to build a green hydrogen industrial park.
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