Spain launches €11 billion stimulus package

Spain has launched a €11 billion stimulus plan, which aims to boost the weakening economy and create 300,000 jobs. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain, says that the money will be spent mostly in infrastructure and public works.

A portion of the package will aim to assist Spain's auto industry, which accounts for a fifth of Spanish exports and has been hit hard by the economic crisis, having seen sales plummet 54.6% since the beginning of the year.

The plan represents 1.1% of Spain's gross domestic product, and is a part of the €200 billion stimulus announced by the European Union.

Spain's economy is in a sharp downturn due to a crash in the construction sector. Spanish GDP shank 0.2% in the third quarter, the first such decline in fifteen years. Spain's unemployment rate reached 11.3% in September, a record for the European Union.

Germany launched a similar package worth €50 billion, and France is expected to launch economic measures worth €20 billion next week as well.

Reported by WIKINEWS
* "Spain unveils 11bn euro stimulus". BBC News Online, November 27, 2008
* "Spain: economic stimulus plan to create jobs". AP Business News, November 27, 2008