The Spanish economy continued to expand at a rapid pace at the start of the year, signalling continued underlying strength in the wealthy world’s top-performing economy ahead of trade tariffs that could yet put a brake on momentum, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gross domestic product increased by 0.6% in the first three months of the year, in line with economists’ estimates, according to figures set out Tuesday by Spain’s statistics agency. Exports of goods and services rose 1.0%, accelerating rapidly from the previous quarter.

Spain’s unemployment rate rose in the first quarter, a sign of some caution among employers in an economy nonetheless expected to outperform its peers this year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Joblessness rose to 11.4% between January and March from 10.6% in the final months of last year, according to figures released Monday by Spain’s statistics authority. This is the first time since the first quarter of last year that unemployment has increased in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy. Joblessness rose in all sectors, including in services and industry.

Spain and Portugal were hit by a major power outage that caused widespread disruption to flights, traffic and telecommunications across the Iberian Peninsula, the Wall Street Journal reported. Businesses, hospitals and other critical infrastructure were forced to rely on backup generators and homes were without electricity as authorities scrambled to identify the cause of Monday’s blackout. Grid operators in both countries said they were progressively reinstating power.

The Spanish government will provide 14.1 billion euros ($15.66 billion) worth of measures to help its economy weather the impact of the new U.S. tariffs, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday, Reuters reported. The new tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday have rattled markets and drew condemnation from world leaders facing an abrupt end of an era of trade liberalisation that has shaped the global order for decades. Spain, which like other European Union members was hit by U.S.

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.

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.

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.