The number of jobs lost in the summer months this year amounted to a record 340,282, according to data recently presented by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). As a result, the unemployment rate in the third quarter of the year came to 24.8 percent, up from 23.6 percent in Q2.

The total number of unemployed climbed to 1,230,918 at end-September, while the number of those still in work shrank to 3,739,018, against 4,079,300 in the same period a year earlier, when the jobless rate stood at 17.7 percent.

The highest unemployment rate is seen among graduates of tertiary technological education (28 percent) and the lowest among professionals with postgraduate degrees (12.6 percent).

Out of all of the jobless in search of paid work, 43.9 percent are seeking exclusively full-time employment while 48.2 percent are looking for full-time work but are also willing to compromise with part-time positions. The remaining 7.8 percent desire part-time work or are don’t mind whether they find full- or part-time employment.

Those who are entering the labor market for the first time but are unable to find a job come to 24.7 percent of the total number of jobless, while the long-term unemployed – i.e. those who have been seeking work for at least 12 months – account for 62.6 percent of the total.

The unemployment rate among women at end-September stood at 28.9 percent, compared with 21.7 percent among men. Greek citizens have an unemployment rate of 24 percent against a sizable 33.1 percent rate for foreign nationals in Greece. However, 72.3 percent of foreign nationals are economically active, against just 51.7 percent of Greek citizens.