MADRID: Not all is well with the Spanish economy, as an unemployment rate of well over 20% indicates, but in terms of other macro-economic indicators there are unmistakable signs that the country is heading in the right direction.
The latest figures published by the central statistics unit show that Spain’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 0.9% during the first quarter of 2015, due mainly to a 3% rise in domestic demand and an increase in investment.
This latest growth means that over the past twelve months the Spanish economy has grown by 2.7%, and even the situation regarding unemployment is improving significantly. Employment has grown by 2.8% over the past twelve months, the equivalent of an additional 458,000 full-time jobs.
Exports are also rising faster than imports (1% and 0.8% respectively during the first quarter), and although the social effects of the years of crisis are still keenly felt all over the country it seems that in terms of pure economics Spain is now climbing out of the mire.
