Eurostat agency statistics show that Spain leads the EU unemployment league table, in a downturn that started in June last year at 11% and that has risen ever since.

Government leader, Zapatero, says that the crisis is universal, but when compared with the 27 members of the EU, one year after they officially recognized the recession, Spain still remains at the top of the list with an unemployment rate of 18.3%, followed by Latvia with 16.3% and Estonia with 15.6%. 

Spain has even lost touch with Greece and Portugal, its traditional allies in terms of bad figures and has joined the lamentable state of the Balkan countries.

The picture is even worse for unemployed young people: in the Euro zone the figure stands at 19% as a whole, but individually, Spain is top of the pops with 36.9% of young people out of work.

Meanwhile the most prestigious analysts have found that the future is none too bright for Spain, and many believe that the country will be the last to emerge from the current downturn, with the EU forecasting unemployment in Spain next year at 20,5%.