How does Spain have one of the EU's lowest Debt levels yet have by far the highest Unemployment Rate?

Spain's Debt-to-GDP ratio is only 61%, but their unemployment rate is above 20% (and above 50% for twentysomethings).





Look:


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/busin鈥?/a>|||Some thoughts , not very well presented:


Spanish Government employees are paid about one half what Government employees in the UK get. They have already accepted a pay cut to try to minimise job losses. Just imagine greedy, selfish British Civil Servants doing that!





Most British government debt is caused by there not being enough tax income to pay for government expenditure for years under Labour. The Spanish socialists have not been in power for so long and the market is content because they are expected to be totally destroyed at the next elections.





The high unemployment rate and uncontrolled immigration from Morocco and Ecuador keep down government expenditure because these people are used to a low wages and a low standard of living and are happy if the can eat and have a roof over their heads.





Until relative recently, Spain has been a net receiver of EU cash. That helped keep the debt down too.





Another important factor is that Spain gave accurate figures when it joined the Euro. Unlike Greece.





Also Spanish banks did not get so deeply involved in the USA, probably because they were getting up to their necks in Latin America where there is no language problem.





The Catalan government has issued loan stock which gives 4.75% over two years. this keeps debt in Spain and also takes some of the black money out of the economy.





The unemployed are not paid high levels of benefit. In fact , many receive nothing!


There is poverty.|||Spain's crisis is related to the building bubble.





Before the crisis the spanish building industry was bigger as the one of UK, France and Germany TOGETHER.





That bubble was financed through the banking system and employed a huge chunk of the population.





After the crisis, the spanish building sector is 90% smaller than before the crisis, reason why the spanish bank are in such a mess and there are so many unemployed people.





The problem is that if the spanish banking system collapsed, then the government would have to put money to save it, and since the problem was so huge, then the ratio would jump from 61% to probably 100% or 120%. That risk is what scared the market.|||Espana has lost a great deal of manufacturing and with it jobs. Many people have more than one job and still pay for retirement for their parents before they can consider their own career. The service economy is also competitive with foreign workers from many places for tourist dollars. They come form Brasil and places where Spanish is spoken too, in Madrid its a little different because places want a certain form of Spanish as well what is taught in school, but in lovely Barcelona is a little different and in Sevilla there is not much but tourism and restaurants. In the south manufacturing is coming alive again as well as in the central north. I go there often and we trade building contracts.|||The two aren't actually related.



The country is in debt (whatever the amount) to other countries and banks and the WMF.



The unemployment has to do with businesses having jobs to give people, and there being a need for employees to do those jobs.



What does this have to do with travel?