NEW figures show that Spanish unemployment levels have hit record levels, with nearly a quarter of the labour force unable to find work.The news comes hours after the country’s credit rating was cut two notches to “BBB+” by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s.According to the new data released on Friday, unemployment levels hit 24.44 per cent at the end of March, the highest level since a statistical series began in 1996.The number of unemployed people in the country has now risen to 5,639,500 people, according to the national statistics institute. This represents a rise of 365,900 from the last quarter.Unemployment has risen 1.5 per cent, from a level of 22.9 per cent of the labour force in the final quarter of 2011.The institute also said that the number of households with every adult member unemployed rose by 153,400 to 1.7 million.Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the 17-member eurozone.S&P cut the country’s rating to “BBB+” from its previous level of “A”, saying that it expected the Spanish economy to shrink over the next two years.The agency also cut the country’s short-term rating, and placed it on negative outlook, meaning that there is a risk of further downgrades to come.“We believe that the Kingdom of Spain’s budget trajectory will likely deteriorate against a background of economic contraction in contrast with our previous projections,” it said in a statement on Thursday.“At the same time, we see an increasing likelihood that Spain’s government will need to provide further fiscal support to the banking sector.”S&P predicts the Spanish economy will shrink by 1.5 per cent this year, having previously forecasted growth of 0.3 per cent. Spain’s new conservative government has forecast that the economy will contract by 1.7 per cent this year.
