Greece’s unemployment rate rose to 26.9% in April, up from 26.8% on the previous month, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (Elstat).
Figures released on Thursday set the total number of unemployed in April at 1,337,621, the employed at 3,636,042 and economically inactive at 3,337,051.
This means that the country’s unemployment figures have grown by almost a million in five years. In April 2008, a few months before the onset of the crisis, 380,775 people were recorded as unemployed.
Youth unemployment remained extremely high, running at 57.5% in the 15-24 age group. The unemployment rate for women (30.5%) is higher than that for men (24.2%).
The jobless rate is expected to dip when the new figures released for the month of May past, will take into consideration temporary employment in the tourism industry and government sponsored employment schemes for a short period of time.