Madrid ( CNN ) -- Spain 's unemployment rate has climbed to its highest level ever , the Spanish government said Thursday , as a painful recession takes a toll on the debt-stricken nation . The latest official figures show 26.02 % of the population without jobs in the last quarter of 2012 , with just over 55 % of those aged 16 to 24 unemployed . Explore our interactive : Europe 's decade : A tale of boom and bust . The unemployment rate is the highest in the country 's history , according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute , with the total number of jobless people at 5.97 million . In 2007 , before the global economic crisis hit , Spain had 1.9 million people unemployed -- 8.6 % of the active population . By this time last year , the number had climbed to 5.2 million . Read more : Spain escapes aid but doubt remains . In the eurozone , only Greece , which is facing a sixth year of recession , has a greater proportion of young people out of work . Spain , the fourth-largest economy in the eurozone , is suffering its second recession in three years , and its ailing banking industry has had to draw on the eurozone 's bailout fund to stay afloat . But it has stopped short of following in the footsteps of Greece , Ireland and Portugal in requesting a full-blown sovereign bailout . Successive rounds of austerity measures have prompted angry public protests on Spain 's streets . CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report .
Greece 's unemployment rate for the last quarter was the highest ever , official figures show . The young are badly affected , with just over 55 % of those aged three years jobless . Spain is suffering its fourth recession in the last quarter . In the eurozone , only Spain has a greater proportion of unemployed young people .