Greece unemployment rate climbs to 27 pct in November

Greece’s unemployment rate in November rose to 27 percent from 26.6 percent in the previous month, according to data released Thursday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

Unemployment in Greece was more than double the eurozone's average rate of 11.7 percent in November as an austerity-fueled recession continued to take its toll on the labor market.

More than 300,000 Greeks lost their jobs between November 2011 and November 2012, when the unemployment rate reached 27 percent.

ELSTAT said that the jobless rate rose by 6.2 percentage points from November 2011, when it was 20.8 percent.

Unemployment in Greece is now roughly double what it was at the beginning of 2010.

Τhe number of unemployed came to 1,350,181 in November 2012 as 323,808 people had lost their jobs in the previous 12 months; a rate of 887 a day.

There as a small drop in the number of inactive people, who reached 3,339,982, slightly higher than the number of employed, which stood at 3,642,102 in November.

The highest rate of unemployment is in the 15 to 24 age group, where it stands at 61.7 percent.

This is followed by the 25 to 34 age group with 36.2 percent.

Source: ekathimerini.com