Spain's first general strike in more than a year is the first being carried out against the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which was elected last November. Spain's jobless rate is currently hovering near 23% and is nearly 50% for youth. However, Spain is not the only country within the Eurozone to be experiencing major setbacks in its economic recovery.

Spain's problems are well documented - Thursday's general strike closed business and transport for a day. The economy in the country is struggling and it seems it's not alone.

A report from Europe's economic think tank says euro zone nations are falling far behind the United States and Canada, as a fragile recovery takes its toll. The Paris based OECD predicts France and Italy will contract in the first quarter, while Germany's growth will be at just 0.1 percent.

But Peter Dixon from Commerzbank says the euro zone has not yet run out of steam.

He said, "What we have seen over the past six months has been quite a significant effort from European governments to put forward the first raft of full measures. It will take time for them to be accepted by the electorate. We are seeing strikes and protests on the streets on an almost daily basis. It will take time for them to be accepted. But once the first round goes through I think experience in other countries tends to suggest things tend to run more smoothly there after."

The OECD has called for euro zone nations to ramp up the size of their rescue funds. Some analysts fear Spain will be the next country to need one. The organization has also warned central banks to keep interest rates low to help the recovery.

European shares fell to a three-week low and peripheral euro zone bond yields rose as investors braced for the announcement of Spain's new budget.

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