Costa Blanca | Unemployment

The Marina Baixa on the Costa Blanca covers an area which goes down as far as Villajoyosa and up as far as Benidorm.At the end of 2011 there were 18,000 people registered unemployed.This is almost 900 people more than in 2010 and a loss of 10,000 more since 2007 , when the financial crisis in Spain began.

Even though hotels in Benidorm and other towns had fairly high occupancy rates , jobs were still lost.According to a recent report 22 people have lost their jobs every day during the month of December.There are those who say that hotel occupancy percentages are not a picture of the overall economic climate.Many hotels are offering such low rates that their actual profit margins are minute.If tourists are in an all inclusive package then there will be very little money going into the surrounding businesses.

Last year many hotels have closed down for the low season ,which has been unheard of on the Costa Blanca.It could be that the worst is yet to come as more information emerges about the deficits in the coffers of most municipalities.It means that suppliers are not getting paid and if they are not paid then they are unable to pay their employees and so the spiral goes down and down.

In the Marina Baixa Benidorm is the town which has seen the greatest rise in unemployment .It is the largest town and its total now stands at over 7000.