Spanish unemployment tops 6 million

More than six million Spaniards were out of work in the first quarter of this year, raising the jobless rate in the Euro zone's fourth biggest economy to 27.2 per cent, the highest since records began in the 1970s.

The huge sums poured into the global financial system by major central banks have eased bond market pressure on Spain, but the cuts Madrid has made in spending to regain investors' confidence have left it deep in recession.

Unemployment - 6.2 million in the first quarter - has been rising for seven quarters and the latest numbers will fuel a growing debate on whether to ease off on the budget austerity which has dominated Europe's response to the debt crisis.