Greek drama goes on! New unemployment record!!!

Greek unemployment hits a fresh record

Greece's unemployment rate scaled a new record in January as the country's downturn entered a sixth year, with young people among the worst hit, data has revealed.

Unemployment in January stood at 27.2pc, up from a revised 25.7pc in December, Greece's statistics service Elstat said on Thursday. Photo: AFP PHOTO / LOUISA GOULIAMAKILOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images

By Rachel Cooper, and agencies

 

Against a backdrop of tough austerity measures imposed under its international bailout, Greece's jobless rate has almost tripled since the country's debt crisis emerged in 2009.

Unemployment in January stood at 27.2pc, up from a revised 25.7pc in December, Greece's statistics service Elstat said on Thursday.

Youth unemployment - among those aged between 15 and 24 - edged further towards the 60pc mark, rising to 59.3pc in January, up from 51pc in the same month in 2012.

Joblessness has trickled steadily higher in Greece as tax rises and spending cuts demanded by its creditors take their toll on the embattled country. The economy is expected to shrink 4.5pc this year.

"The first quarter will remain tough amid the deep recession, despite an improvement in the previous two months due to seasonal hirings," said Nikos Magginas, an economist at commercial Greek lender National Bank.

 

Finance minister Yannis Stournaras said in February that pre-bookings for the tourism season in Greece were "very good" and a finance ministry official indicated earlier this week that tourism is expected to offset the effect of Cyprus' banking crisis.

Data earlier this month showed that unemployment across the eurozone as a whole hit a record 12pc in February. Statistics office Eurostat estimated that 19m people in the eurozone were unemployed in February, a 33,000 rise on the previous month.

Highest increases in unemployment rates were witnessed in Greece, and Spain, where 26.3pc are unemployed. Austria, Germany and the Netherlands were among those countries with the lowest rates.
After three years of austerity policies to tackle the economic crisis in the European Union, some politicians have warned that cost-cutting measures which raise unemployment could result in the rise of populist governments.
"Prolonging austerity today risks not achieving a reduction in deficits but the certainty of making governments unpopular so that populists will swallow them whole when the time comes," French President Francois Hollande said last month.
EU jobs commissioner Laszlo Andor has described the "unacceptably high" levels of unemployment as a "tragedy for Europe".