Unemployment shows no improvement in November

Greece’s jobless rate was steady at 20.9 percent in November, unchanged from an upwardly revised figure in October, the country’s statistics service ELSTAT said on Thursday.

Seasonally adjusted data showed the number of unemployed at 995,899 people, with younger persons aged up to 24 bearing the brunt of being out of work.

Among younger persons aged 15 to 24, the jobless rate eased to 43.7 percent from 46.1 percent in the same month in 2016.

Greece’s jobless rate, which hit a record high of 27.9 percent in September 2013, has been coming down since but remains the highest in the eurozone.

The government expects the unemployment rate to fall to 18.4 percent this year, based on projections in its 2018 budget.

Unemployment in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell to 8.7 percent in November, a nine-year low.

[Reuters]