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Remittances from emigrants in Spain fall 7.3 per cent
Written by Jo Burg
Thursday, 02 October 2008 10:31
Remittances from emigrants in Spain fell 7.3 percent in the first six months of this year, compared to the same period in 2007, to 1.77 billion euros, the Bank of Spain said.Between January and September, according to the most recent figures from the central bank, foreigners living in Spain sent 141 million euros less to their countries of origin.
Remittances are now back to the level registered in September 2006, when they totaled 1.74 billion euros.
During the first two quarters of 2008, the downward trend in remittance payments became more pronounced.
Remittances from Spaniards living abroad, however, grew 3 percent in the first six months of this year to 1.34 billion euros.
The Spanish economy has been slowing in recent months, with unemployment rising in the wake of the meltdown of the construction and real estate industries, which employed large numbers of immigrants.
Last month, Prime Minister José Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero said Spain's economy would experience "weak" growth for the rest of this year and in the first half of 2009.
The Spanish government faces the difficulty of simultaneously addressing the highest unemployment rate in the European Union - 10.7 percent - and inflation of around 5 percent.





