The Canary Islands has the highest rate of youth unemployment in Spain, with almost half of youngsters without work.
The latest government survey reveals that more than 47 per cent of young people in the Canaries are without work, well above the national average, which stands at 35.6 per cent.
Without doubt, it is the young who are bearing the brunt of the current economic downturn, with one in five registered unemployed below the age of 25.
Even the figure for the whole of Spain, 35.6 per cent, is double that fore the general population, which stands at 17.3 per cent.
In all, 808,500 young people between 16 and 24 are without work, 308,000 more than the same period a year ago as more youngsters leave school and university only to join the dole queue.
According to those in the recruitment industry, the young find it particularly difficult to find work at the best of times because of their lack of work experience, while now apparently, even a masters degree offers no guarantee of a job.
One of the biggest obstacles to finding work is that many employers have stopped taking on temporary staff, traditionally the first rung on the ladder to a real job for many youngsters, and are instead trying to make better use of existing staff.
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