IT’S a bold statement or promise to make, the creation of 800,000 jobs over the next three years at the cost of 72 billion euros. Ironically, that figure coincides the unfulfilled promise made by Felipe González’s Socialist Government in 1982.
It sounds inspiring but is it possible?
To start with where is the money going to come from considering PM Pedro Sanchez is apparently not allowed European Union Covid funds for schemes of this kind. The EU has stipulated very clearly how Covid bail outs, grants and repayable loans have to be used, job creation, it would appear is not one of them.
The second question is where are these jobs going to be created?
One of the country’s largest employers, probably the biggest, is the Tourist Sector, either directly or indirectly, and tourism is going to take its time picking up again next year, it may never reach “normality” until 2022, so there are unlikely to be masses of new jobs in the tourists industry.
All around Palma new apartment blocks are being flung up, but will people have the liquidity to start playing the property market?
Should Sanchez be able to pull this off, full marks, but I think it’s going to be a tall order because any new jobs, in an ideal world, would have to be sustainable, full term and on long term contracts and that’s going to be a big ask.