Spain’s unemployment rate reaches 15.33% for second quarter

Spain’s unemployment rose to 15.33% for the second quarter of 2020, according to Tuesday’s data from the National Statistics Institute amid the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country.

The unemployment rate surged past the first quarter’s 14.41%, the highest since 2018.

According to a Reuters’ poll, economists forecast Spain’s unemployment rate may reach as high as 16.70% in the coming months.

Spain was one of the countries worse-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing its government to impose the strictest lockdown measures in Europe since March.

Spain has reported a total number of 278, 782 COVID-19 cases, with a death toll reaching up to 28,434.