Spain's population fell last year the first time since annual records began in 1998 as immigrants left in droves because of a steep recession that has tipped one in four people in the country out of work, official data showed Monday. There were 47.1 million residents in Spain as of the first of January, 205,788 fewer than during the same time last year, according to provisional figures from the national statistics institute. The drop was entirely accounted for by a fall in the number of registered foreign residents, mostly from Spain's former colonies in Latin America.

The income gap between the richest and poorest people in Spain has widened by 30 percent since 2006 due to the country's sharp economic downturn, the Spanish branch of Catholic charity Caritas said Wednesday. Falling salaries, government cuts to social benefits and high unemployment --- currently at a record 26 percent --- are behind the "unprecedented rise in income inequality" which is among the highest in the European Union, the charity said in a new report.

By Clare Kane MADRID, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Mobile phone operator Vodafone said it had reached agreement with labour unions to lay off 620 workers at its recession-hit Spanish unit, adding to a list of job cuts in Spain's hard-hit economy. Many companies in Spain, where the unemployment rate already stands at 26 percent, are laying off staff to cut costs. The ruling centre-right government, in the midst an austerity drive to slash its deficit, has introduced measures to make hiring and firing easier.