Unemployment inches down in February, lowest since June 2011

Greece’s jobless rate fell to 16.1 percent in February compared to a downwardly revised 16.2 percent reading in the previous month, data from the country’s statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday.

It was the lowest jobless rate since June 2011.

Seasonally adjusted data showed the number of unemployed at 745,948 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 35.6 percent from 36.5 percent in the same month in 2019. 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 projected growth picking up this year, helping to drive joblessness down to 15.6 percent but the government-imposed lockdown to stem the spread of the new coronavirus has thrown forecasts off.

[Reuters]