Spanish unemployment leaps to new high of 26% with 55% of young people out of work

5.97 million without jobs following prolonged recession and spending cuts

It is the highest level since measurements began in the 1970s

Over past 12 months a further 691,700 people have fallen out of work

There are now 1.8 million Spanish households in which no one is employed

And financial experts warn 'we haven't seen the bottom yet'

Spain's unemployment rate has soared to record levels with a shocking 55 per cent of young people now out of work and experts warning worse is to come.
The jobless total rose to 26 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012, equivalent to 5.97 million people according to the National Statistics Institute and up from 25 per cent in the previous quarter.
It is the highest level since measurements began in the 1970s as a prolonged recession and deep spending cuts left almost six million people out of work at the end of last year.

Crisis: A man waits outside a Madrid employment office. Latest figures reveal Spanish unemployment has reached an all-time high

Over past 12 months 691,700 more people have fallen out of work, the institute said, adding that there were now 1.8 million households in which no one was employed.

'We haven't seen the bottom yet and employment will continue falling in the first quarter,' said Citigroup strategist Jose Luis Martinez.
Spain sank into its second recession since 2009 at the end of 2011 after a burst housing bubble left millions of low-skilled laborers out of work and sliding private and business sentiment gutted consumer spending and imports.

Unemployment in Spain now stands at a record 26 per cent, higher than any other EU country

Efforts by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government to control one of the euro zone's largest deficits through billions of euros of spending cuts and tax hikes have fueled general malaise, further hampering demand.
When Rajoy took office in late 2011 there were 5.27 million jobless in Spain.
The economic downturn put an average of 1,900 out of work every day through 2012 and with the recession expected to last at least until the end of 2013, net job creation is unlikely this year.

Sorry scene: Over the year, 691,700 more Spanish people lost their jobs, meaning there are now 1.8 million households in which no one was employed

Joblessness has been particularly acute for Spain's youth, with 60 percent of people under the age of 25 unemployed in the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the economy shrank at its fastest pace since the recession began, the Bank of Spain said on Wednesday, dragged down by a steep drop in private consumption due in part to a September VAT hike and public wage cuts.
Spain is in the throes of its second recession in just over three years following the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector in 2008.
Battling to reduce a swollen deficit and avoid a bailout, the year-old conservative government has brought major financial and labor reforms and applied severe cutbacks in wages and spending but so far the economy has shown few signs of recovery.
The austerity measures are aimed at lowering the deficit, but are hurting the economy in the short-term, while the reforms will only help growth in the longer-term. That means the economy will suffer more before it recovers.
The central bank this week estimated that the recession deepened in the fourth quarter of last year, the economy shrinking by 0.6 percent compared with the previous three-month period.
It was the sixth consecutive quarterly contraction. The economy contracted by 0.4 percent in the third quarter.
The bank estimated economic activity was down 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period and down 1.3 percent for the whole of 2012.
The statistics institute will announce official economic growth figures on Jan. 30, while Europe's main statistics office Eurostat unveils its estimate on Feb. 14.