17 percent of the Balearics could be without a job in 2010

MADRID
UNEMPLOYMENT in the Balearics is forecast to remain at a record high this year and possibly rise even further in 2010.
This year, 16.6 percent of the regional working population is registered as unemployed but, according to a report published yesterday, it is expected to rise even higher in 2010 and could reach the 17 percent mark. The figures were published yesterday in a study by Spanish banking group Caja España entitled: “Regional Analysis of the Job Market and Inflation.”

HIGHEST FOR YEARS
The report, which has taken into account the seasonal number of job losses in the Balearics over the winter in the tourist industry, the numbers of people registered as out of work during the first quarter of this year was ten points higher than during the same period last year.

The current figure is the highest unemployment level in the region for the last 17 years.