The jobless rate rose to a fresh record of 21.8 per cent in January from a revised 21.2 per cent in December, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (Elstat) said on Thursday, as the debt crisis and austerity measures took their toll on the labour market.
Elstat’s Labour Force Survey showed that the number of unemployed people grew by 26,000 from December.
There are now 1,084,668 registered unemployed people in the country, while the number of people considered economically inactive is 3,342,853.
The total, 4,427,521, is far greater than the number of employed, which is at 3,880,120.
The report also shows that one in four women are out of work (25.7 per cent) and that the country’s unemployment blackspot is Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, where the jobless rate is 22.6 per cent.
The lowest rate (19.8 per cent) was registed in Crete. Just over half (50.8) of young people under the age of 24 are also out of a job.
Starting this month, unemployment figures are adjusted for seasonal factors. The average jobless rate in the 17 countries sharing the euro rose slightly in January to 10.7 percent, from 10.6 percent in December.
Source: Reuters
