Greek jobless rate drops to 19 pct in second quarter
Greece’s jobless rate dropped to 19.0 percent in April-to-June from 21.2 percent in the first quarter, data from the country’s statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday.
About 72.1 percent of Greece’s 906,000 jobless are long-term unemployed, meaning they have been out of work for at least 12 months, the figures showed.
Greece’s highest unemployment rate was recorded in the first quarter of 2014, when joblessness hit 27.8 percent.
Athens has already published monthly unemployment figures through June, which differ from quarterly data because they are based on different samples and are seasonally adjusted.
June unemployment fell to 19.1 percent. Quarterly figures are not seasonally adjusted.
Greece’s economy expanded for a sixth straight quarter in the April-to-June period but at a slower pace than the quarter before, mainly because of base effects and weak investment spending. [Reuters]
