Jobless rate drops to 16.9 pct in second quarter
Greece’s jobless rate fell to 16.9 percent percent in April-to-June from 19.2 percent in the first quarter, data by the country’s statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday.
About 70.8 percent percent of Greece’s 805,047 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 among the unemployed. The jobless rate for women was 20.9 percent versus 13.7 percent for men in the second quarter, while for people aged 15-19 it stood at 41.5 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. Quarterly figures are not seasonally adjusted.
June unemployment fell to 17.0 percent, the lowest since May 2011.
Greece’s economy remained on the path of recovery in April-to-June, with its pace of expansion picking up from the first quarter thanks to a boost from net exports and government spending.
Economic growth accelerated to 1.9 percent year-on-year from a 1.1 percent clip in the first quarter.
[Reuters]
