Jobless rate keeps rising
There appears to be no stopping Greece’s surging unemployment, which in October soared to 26.8 percent from 26.2 percent in September and from 19.7 percent in October 2011.
According to Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) figures released on Thursday, the total number of jobless came to 1,345,715, which is 368,701 more than a year earlier.
The number of the newly unemployed – those who lost their jobs between October 2011 and October 2012 – was almost equal to the total number of jobless before the eruption of the economic crisis, in 2008, which had stood at 373,528, with an unemployment rate of just 7.5 percent. This means that in the four years since then, nearly 1 million people (972,187) have become jobless.
The unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group also registered a rise, amounting to 56.6 percent in October, while the rate for those heading toward retirement (55-64) was 15.4 percent, five times that recorded four years earlier.
