Fury as government jiggles the stats to drop dole figures

The government has been caught out trying to jiggle the underlying stats on the dole figures. They say the changes will only influence the unemployment rates by a couple of decimal points, but independent statisticians reckon it could be over a whole point. The fuss lies with the base population figure. INE, the stats office, currently uses an adjusted 2002 rate. That is, they used the 2002 census to count everyone in the country, then Continue reading Fury as government jiggles the stats to drop dole figures

Good employment news is just a political smokescreen

Lies and mirrors is all we are seeing with the “good news” about the unemployment figures in Spain this Christmas. Lets look at the figures: 107.570 people fewer on the SEPE list during December, which means people who are on the dole or whose dole has ended, but are actively inscribed on the government “looking for work list”. But since nobody bothers to register on the SEPE once their dole has ended (you have to Continue reading Good employment news is just a political smokescreen

50 people fired at Macael townhall can’t get the dole

50 people fired in a mass redundancy plan (ERE) implemented by Macael townhall (bankrupt, can’t pay salaries) have received notification from the Employment Office that they won’t get the dole. The reason is apparently because there is a dispute about whether the ERE is legal or not. The ERE was approved by the Junta de Andalucia, but the Inspectorate of Work (Madrid) says that proper procedures were not followed and has accused both Macael and Continue reading 50 people fired at Macael townhall can’t get the dole