Greek unemployment dipped to 24.6 percent in August

Greece's jobless rate dropped to 24.6 percent in August from a downwardly revised 24.9 percent in the previous month, statistics agency ELSTAT said on Thursday.

The reading in August, based on seasonally adjusted data, was the lowest since June 2012 when unemployment stood at 24.9 percent. The jobless rate hit a record high of 27.9 percent in September 2013.

Unemployment has come down from record highs as the economy stabilized last year after a severe slump, but remains more than double the euro zone's average of 10.9 percent in August.

Greece's economy grew 0.9 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous three-month period, helped by consumer spending and net exports. Its performance supports a more favourable outlook for the year as a whole, with the European Commission now projecting a 1.4 percent contraction versus a previously expected 2.3 percent recession.

[Reuters]