Spain is back in recession

Spain's new conservative government led by Mariano Rajoy is facing the old problem: heavy indebtedness leads to austerity measures which lead to slowing economic growth.

As reported in El Pais, Luis de Guindos, appointed last week by Rajoy as Economy Minister said yesterday, "Let nobody fool themselves; the next two quarters from the point of view of growth and from the point of view of employment are not going to be easy."

Unemployment for the third quarter of 2011 stood at 21.5 percent. It is expected to rise when the fourth quarter's figures are tabulated.