Greece’s unemployment rate dropped slightly to 24.6 percent in November, down from an upwardly revised 24.7 percent in October, announced the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
In a report released in Brussels, the EU executive’s statistic service noted the unemployment rate in the Eurozone was 10.3 pct in January 2016, from 10.4 pct in December, the lowest level since August 2011. In the EU-28, the unemployment rate was 8.9 pct, down from 9.0 pct in December, the lowest level since May 2009.
Unemployment in Greece has decreased slightly as the economy stabilized last year after a severe slump, but remains more than double the Eurozone’s average of 10.4 percent in December.
There were 21.78 million people unemployed in the EU and 16.64 million unemployed in the Eurozone in January.
Greece (24.6 pct) and Spain (20.5 pct) recorded the highest unemployment rates in the EU, while Germany and Czech Republic (4.5 pct), Malta and the UK (5.1 pct) the lowest unemployment rates.
High unemployment rates
There were 1.18 million unemployed people in Greece. The unemployment rate among young people was 48 pct in Greece, down from 48.3 pct in October. Spain (45 pct), Croatia (44.1 pct) and Italy (39.3 pct) also recorded high unemployment rates among young people.
The November figure, based on seasonally adjusted data, is the lowest since May 2012 when unemployment reached a recession low of 24.0 percent. The jobless rate hit a record high of 27.9 percent in September 2013.
Greece’s economy shrank 0.9 percent in the third quarter of 2015 as capital controls had a negative effect on investment, exports and consumer spending.
The Greek economy is expected to shrink by 0.7 percent in 2016, according to ELSTAT.
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