Janet Anscombe

It is a symbolic number that has been feared for some time, even though one or two positive stories about the rate of unemployment raised hopes that it might not actually happen. Those hopes have been dashed, however, with the news that unemployment in the Canaries is now over 30%. Latest figures show that the number of those out of work in the islands rose 27,500 throughout 2011, leaving 341,900 people without work, up 8.75% on 2010.

The exact rate we are suffering here is 30.93%, according to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). The breakdown is Las Palmas province 32,36%, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife 29,46%. In Spain as a whole, only Andalucia has a worse rate, at 31.23%.