Madrid - Spain's unemployment rate soared to 17.36 per cent in the first quarter of 2009, up from 13.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said Friday.

Last year's fourth quarter figure was already the highest in the European Union.

The number of jobless broke through the level of 4 million - which the government had previously ruled out.

More than one million households have all their members out of work.

The number of unemployed is the highest since comparable statistics began to be issued in 1976, and the unemployment rate is the highest since the fourth quarter of
1998.

Unemployment is expected to continue rising, possibly as high as nearly 20 per cent in 2010.

Spain's economy slipped into a recession late last year after being hit by the collapse of the key property sector and the international crisis. (dpa)