The nightmarish unemployment rate in Spain ticked up to 24.6 percent from 24.4 percent in the second quarter . . . there are now nearly six million Spaniards out of work . . . this is the highest level of unemployment since 1976 when a fledgling democracy was born in Spain after decades of the Francisco Franco dictatorship . . . the broader eurozone reported unemployment at 10.8 percent . . . more troubling is the level of youth joblessness in southern Europe particularly in Spain where nearly 51 percent of people under 26 cannot find a job . . . global market strategists are wondering if the lost generation of unemployed young people in Spain will continue to throw their lot in with protest movements . . . the disenfranchised youth could also engage in additional social misbehavior such as crime or substance abuse . . . they also could leave Spain to seek employment elsewhere in the EU.