hello everybody

i would like to know whats with the unemployment in spain.spain is great but not perfect.i know this and much of you all probobly know too.i also know that spain has high unemployment levels.WHAT FOR?whats behing those statistics.i ask because i live in new york and therefore dont understand unemployment or the causes.does anybody fancy a good reply for my little curious question.

hi again

oh to put it more clearly not the causes of spains unemployment but the reasons for spain unemployment(hehe that should have been my p.s. :p

I was reading in a newspaper last week about how there were some 16,000 people on unemployment who were registered to work in the hostelaria industry and there were some 17,000 unfilled positions in the same field. Some of the reasons for this, that were mentioned in the article, were that the jobs weren´t well paying and had lousy hours (weekends/nights) as well as the fact that unemployment pays a lot and so it´s not worth it for the unemployed to take a job that makes them works so much more and only make a little more than staying on unemployment.

I think that this might be a relatively good example of the problems in spain. There are a lot of people taking unemployment and working under-the-table, and also people that prefer to be on unemployment rather than take a low paying job. That´s just my take on everything.

hi everybody

roe

thanks dude great reply. now i get the picture.

I read an article recently (can't remember where) talking about making it mandatory for Spanish unemployed to take a job within a 50 km radius or their "paro" (unemployment benefits) would cease. Did anyone see that? Any additional info/thoughts on that?

That is what the PP is proposing, that someone receiving unemployment will lose their benefits if they turn down 3 jobs within 50km.

This is one of the reasons a general strike is planned for 20 Junio.

Ok, not to be the devils advocate or anything, but what do you all think about the proposal and about the intended strike?

I know a lot of people on unemployment over there, and because I know that they are not even looking for jobs, it doesn't seem fair to keep paying them for not trying. Yes, in the meantime people do other things and take classes to develop more skills, but where are you going to use those skills if you're not working or even looking! :o And then to complain and say that there aren't any jobs (no jobs and none that you may be interested in are 2 very different things) and then to get bothered if a foreigner wants the job???? I don't follow the logic!

I think that some reforms to the laws are necessary. I know someone that was working and then quit his job and then got on unemployment. If they sent him to any interviews he would just tell the company in the interview that he didn´t want the job. I don´t know too much about the new law, but I think that the 50km limit might be a little harsh. A person might not have a car and the job might not be accesable by public transit.

Also it might be a good idea to figure out some methodology to reduce the amount of benefits that people get to discourage them from just taking unemployment because they are too lazy to work. I think that it is a little pretentious for the people here to stay on unemployment for a long time because they can´t find a "good" job. But if that is the way the game works here, you just have to change the rules.

I'm not an expert on the subject but I think you only get on unemployment benefits if you get fired or if your contract ends, not if you voluntarily quit.
Part of the unemployment is caused because a lot of people can't find jobs in the field of study (they finish their university degree after 5/6 years and realize there's no place for them) and they're reluctant to accept what they consider "an lower job".
Regarding INEM,I know people (with a PhD and 5 years work experience in their field) who are offered an internship with 1/3 of the salary they got before, so they reject the job and wait for something better.
Another problem is the lack of opportunities for people in their mid forties and above, who can't find employers interested in hiring them.

I know what some of the problems are as to why people don't work. But because the job pays less than what you made is no reason to turn down a decent job. At least in the meantime you're working, and who knows, maybe something through that job will give you another lead! I think its true though, unemployment needs to be made less appealing, and agree that the 50km rule is also harsh.

As for getting unemployment only if you get layed off or your contract ends, well, yes and no. I know people whos bossses agree to let them out of their contract or don't renew it just because it benefits them also, or because they have a good relationship with the person and if they have a good reason for not wanting to renew their contract, they help them out so they get benefits for a short time. Unemployment should keep you from getting kicked out of your home, but not as a semi-permanent situation because the perfect job isn't out there at the time you may need/want it. And I'm not saying that's always the case. But its just too easy.