Greek jobless rate drops to 18.3 pct in third quarter

Greece’s jobless rate fell to 18.3 percent in July-to-September from 19 percent in the second quarter, data from the country’s statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday.

About 71.8 percent of Greece’s 871,756 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.

The data showed that women and young people in the 15-19 age group were most affected amongthe unemployed. The jobless rate for women was 23.3 versus 14.3 for men in the third quarter, while for people aged 15-19 it stood at 44.3 percent.

Athens has already published monthly unemployment figures through September, which differ from quarterly data because they are based on different samples and are seasonally adjusted. September unemployment fell to 18.6 percent.

Quarterly figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Greece’s economy expanded for a ninth straight quarter in the July-to-September period and at a faster pace than the quarter before, mainly driven by stronger consumer spending. [Reuters]