U.S. stock markets may have soared yesterday, based on news of a deal to solve the problem of the European debt crisis.
But today, in the real world, the news was quite different: unemployment in Spain rose to 21.5 percent in the third quarter. That means nearly nearly 5 million Spaniards (4,978,300, to be exact) are without a job, and 1.43 million Spanish households now have no one working.
The situation is even worse for young people: unemployment among those under age 25 dipped slightly, but remained at a staggering 45.8 percent. Those who have not worked in a year or more now exceed 2.1 million.
European banks may have agreed to a haircut. They can afford it. But, as a result of the austerity measures to pay back the European bankers, unemployed Spanish workers are just going to have to let their hair grow long.
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