Q2 jobless rate drops to 7.2 pct
Greece’s unemployment rate fell to 7.2 percent in the second quarter of the year from 8.3 percent over the previous three months, due to increased jobs coming from the service and financial sectors, according to the National Statistics Service (NSS). The jobless rate was 8.1 percent in the second quarter of 2007, NSS said. Greece’s hotel and restaurant sector increased the number employed by 13 percent in the second quarter, with about 325,500 people employed in the field. According to economists, unemployment is expected to continue falling in the second half of the year but at a slower rate due to a slowdown in economic activity. Greece’s economy expanded at a pace of 3.5 percent in the second quarter, slightly down from 3.6 percent in the first three months of the year. NSS said there were 357,145 people officially unemployed in Greece. It also estimated that 4.51 million had jobs. The average jobless rate in the 15-member eurozone was 7.3 percent in June.
