Spain Business
Spain Business Brief - Friday August 29 2008
By h.b. - Aug 29, 2008 - 2:57 PM
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Spain has recorded the largest increase in unemployment during July in the European Union, with the rate here now the highest of all member countries.
One in four people aged under 25 is out of work here as the rate reaches 11% of the active population according to data from Eurostat. A year ago the rate was 8.2%.
Meanwhile employment in shops in Spain has fallen for the first time since 1999. Small shopkeepers are reporting a 4.8% fall in sales for July compared to a year ago, and have been hardest hit by the economic slowdown, losing 0.1% employment. Large hypermarkets and store chains however saw continued employment growth of between 1.3% and 3.2%.
The European Commission has said it is to investigate the plans for a cooperation agreement between British Airways and Iberia with American Airlines, on routes between Europe and North America. The Commission says it wants to determine the consequences on the competition because of the agreement.
Spending by tourists in Spain is reported to be up on last year. The per person spend was up 3.4% on the year to June at a total 865 €. The daily spend per tourist was 93 €, 1.1% more than in 2007.
Despite the fact that the Euribor interest rate has ended August with a 7 cents fall, those who are to see their mortgage payments be revised this month can expect to pay more because of the last four months continued increases. Most people can expect to pay between 56 and 80 € more per month on the average mortgage. The current Euribor rate is 5.32%
Sales of petrol and diesel in Spain have fallen by 6% and 2.6% since January, as consumers drive less or more economically because of the higher prices. It’s led to the first fall in demand for fuel after ten years of consecutive growth.
And finally,
Sales of property are now reported to be down by 30% over the year with the Mediterranean Coast seeing the greatest falls. There were 47,511 sales over the month of June nationally.
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