Greek unemployment above 25 percent
ATHENS - The Associated Press
Unemployment in Greece hit a record high of 25.1 percent in July as the country’s financial crisis continues to exact its heavy toll, official figures showed Oct 11.All indications are that unemployment in Greece will continue to rise. The economy has shrunk by around a fifth since the recession started in 2008 and youth unemployment has pushed far above 50 percent. The economy is expected to enter a sixth year of recession next year.
“This is a very dramatic result of the recession,” said Angelos Tsakanikas, head of research at Greece’s IOBE economic research foundation.
The state statistics agency said Greece’s unemployment rate rose from 24.8 percent in June. According to European statisticians, that would be the same rate as Spain’s in August. The two countries have the highest unemployment rates among the 17 that use the euro. In August, eurozone unemployment was an average 11.4 percent, the highest level since the single currency was launched.
