According to figures published on April 25 by the Spanish National Statistics Institute, there were 6.2 million unemployed (the equivalent of 27.19 percent of the workforce) in the country in the first quarter of 2013.
This is "a tragic record," reports an alarmed Cinco Días, which points out that in certain regions like Extremadura or Andalusia, the rate of unemployment has exceeded 35 per cent: "a national emergency demanding maximum attention."
Mariano Rajoy’s centre-right government will to present a package of measures on April 26, which includes: an increase in payroll taxes to boost state revenues, facilities to assist in the creation of companies, funding for SMEs, and a plan to modernise and reform public administration.
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