Last week, the unemployment data for September in the Spanish state were published: 95,817 more unemployed, totaling 4,226,774 people. The red alarm has been triggered, as unemployment has increased greatly and it can be expected that the coming months will not be better than the previous ones. In Hego Euskal Herria the number of unemployed stood in August in 182,136 people, and in September in 184,524. In Álava, 22,209 unemployed were counted, in Bizkaia 79,654, in Gipuzkoa 40,243 and in Navarra 42,618 unemployed were counted. In Navarre, the most dramatic increase has been that of the unemployed, with 1,211 more unemployed in one month. As usual, it has been women and young people who have been acquitted.

When analysing the causes of the increase in unemployment, some – the Spanish Government – have talked about “autonomic adjustments”, and others – the unions of Euskal Herria- have put on the table the failure of the adjustment policies that have various institutions, which worsen the situation of employment and social protection and which only defend the interests of big business. However, there are other entities, such as financial institutions, such as banks and savings banks, which have a serious responsibility for unemployment. By closing the source of the credits, hundreds of small businesses are drowning, stopping and dying, with the consequent increase in unemployment. Experts say the source of credit will remain closed and predict that it will not grow by more than 1% or 2% in just five years. The Santander, for example, has said that it will not give more appropriations in the Spanish State for two more years. That is where the real responsibility for unemployment lies. Trade unions and workers should be clear about this when it comes to guiding their actions and mobilisations. The management boards of many small and medium-sized enterprises are not, in the current crisis, responsible for unemployment; the Bank does.