This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/8509946.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
No recovery for Spanish economy No recovery for Spanish economy
(about 3 hours later)
The Spanish economy shrank by 0.1% in the last three months of 2009, making it the last major economy still in recession.The Spanish economy shrank by 0.1% in the last three months of 2009, making it the last major economy still in recession.
INE, the national statistics agency, said the country's gross domestic product had contracted by 3.1% compared with the same period a year before. INE, the national statistics agency, also said the country's gross domestic product had contracted by 3.1% compared with the same period a year before.
Europe's fifth-largest economy has the highest rate of unemployment in the eurozone. Europe's fifth-largest economy has the highest rate of unemployment in the eurozone, hitting 19.5% in December.
The jobless rate in the country reached 19.5% in December. For 2009 as a whole, INE said the Spanish economy contracted by 3.6%.
"These figures shows the Spanish economy is struggling to catch up with the European monetary union," said Ralph Solveen, an analyst with Commerzbank. "Unemployment is the greatest problem for the Spanish economy," said Professor Juan Jose Toribio, who is dean of the IESE Business School in Madrid.
"The government is trying to moderate it by bringing in policies to support domestic demand but this has failed at least in terms of creating unemployment."
The Spanish government announced a 50bn euro austerity package, including a civil service hiring freeze, at the end of January.
Economy 'struggling'
The contraction in the Spanish economy in the final quarter of 2009 was not as severe as the 0.3% decline in the third quarter.
And on Wednesday, Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the country was close to following other European nations out of recession.
But Ralph Solveen, an analyst with Commerzbank said: "These figures shows the Spanish economy is struggling to catch up with the European monetary union.
"Maybe there's a chance we'll see some positive quarter-on-quarter growth this year. Even so, Spain's economy will continue to remain behind the economies of its eurozone neighbours," he continued"Maybe there's a chance we'll see some positive quarter-on-quarter growth this year. Even so, Spain's economy will continue to remain behind the economies of its eurozone neighbours," he continued
INE said the Spanish economy contracted by a total of 3.6% in 2009. Spain's Socialist government has forecast a return to growth in the second half of this year.
However, the International Monetary Fund expects the economy to contract by 0.6% in 2010, compared with a predicted growth for the 16-nation eurozone of 1.0%.
Spain's public debt is expected to rise from 55.2% of GDP in 2009 to 74.3% in 2012.