ATHENS: Greece’s jobless rate remained unchanged at 23.5 percent in January from the previous month, statistics agency ELSTAT said on Thursday. December’s reading was upwardly revised to 23.5 percent. The number of officially unemployed reached 1.1 million people. Hardest hit were young people aged 15 to 24 years, with their jobless rate dropping 48 percent from 50.9 percent in the same month a year earlier. The jobless rate hit a record high of 27.9 percent in September 2013.
Greece’s jobless rate has come down from record highs but remains more than double the euro zone’s average. Unemployment in the 19 countries sharing the euro eased to 9.5 percent in February, near an eight-year low. The country’s economy contracted in the final quarter of 2016, performing worse than projected. Economic output slumped 1.2 percent compared to the previous quarter. The government expects the jobless rate to drop to 22.6 percent this year, based on its 2017 budget, which sees the economy expanding by 2.7 percent.
