December unemployment drops to 16.3 pct, lowest since March 2011

Greece’s jobless rate eased to 16.3 percent in December from 16.5 percent in the previous month, data from the country’s statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday.

It was the lowest jobless rate since March 2011.

Seasonally adjusted data showed the number of unemployed at 758,886 people, with those aged up to 24 bearing the brunt of being out of work.

Among younger persons aged 15 to 24, the jobless rate fell to 34.7 percent from 39.4 percent in the same month in 2018. Greece’s jobless rate, which hit a record high of 27.8 percent in September 2013, has been falling since but remains the highest in the euro zone.

Greece’s 2020 budget projects growth picking up to 2.8% this year, helping to bring the jobless rate down to 15.6 percent from 17.4 percent last year.

[Reuters]