There are two apparent symptoms indicative of Spain being on the brink of recession. First, its unemployment increasing from the early 1990-ies to eventually hit a high. Second, Standard & Poor's brought Spain credit rating down.


In the 1st quarter, Spain unemployment rate soared to 24.4%. It means that nearly every fourth employable person in Spain is jobless. As for unemployment among youth, it runs over 50% with a negative outlook.


In addition, the labour market of Spain is suffering from the fiscal program implemented by the government.  As a result of the program, the number of jobs shrank by 3hundredd and 66thousand  already in the first quarter.


What is more, Standard & Poor's cut Spain rating from A to three B+.


S&P experts also downgraded Spain economic outlook. So now, the GDP of the country is seen to


contract by 1.5% in 2012 and by 0.5% in 2013. Before the revision, Spain GDP had been expected to advance by 0.3% and 0.5% correspondingly.


If the net public debt of Spain amounts to 80% for the period from 2012 to 2014, the country's rating may well be lowered further.


Spain rating might also be affected in case external conditions worsen.