Spanish people confined to their homes showing their support for healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic. (File photo: Reuters)
Unemployment claims increased by 302,265 to over 3.5 million in Spain during March as the coronavirus crisis causes widespread lockdowns and jobs to dry up, according to data released by the Spanish Ministry of Labour, Migrations & Social Security.
The number of cases of coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, surpassed 100,000 on Wednesday, while the number of deaths increased to 9,053. Spain is the second worst effected country in Europe after Italy, which has reported over 13,000 deaths.
The figures follow similar news from elsewhere. In the US, nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits in mid-March, nearly five-times the previous record.
There are nearly 940,000 infected people across the world with coronavirus, and over 47,000 dead. Over 194,400 have recovered.
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