According to figures released by the Employment Ministry, the number of people registered at employment offices as being out of work in December declined by 59,094 when compared to November, bringing the grand total of unemployed to 4.848 million. December is usually a good month for employment due to the long Christmas festive period.
For the year as a whole, however, the ranks of the unemployed were swelled by 426,364, an increase of 9.64% percent compared to 2011.
The number of people affiliated to the Social Security system declined by 797,240 in 2012, a rate of 2,162 per day, to 16.422 million. This means that there are now less than two workers contributing to the Social Security system for every single pensioner drawing benefits from it.
While the number of registered unemployed stands at 4.8 million, the latest Active Population Survey by the National Statistics Institute shows that the number of people out of work at the end of the third quarter was 5.7 million.
The new labour laws have made it easier and cheaper to sack people, something companies have been taking advantage of during the year.
Current predictions are that jobs could be created by the end of 2013, but in the meantime unemployment is likely to rise to around 27% nationally. With output down by an estimated 1.5% in 2012, Spain is back in recession.