Jobless rate soars to 27.2 percent
The unemployment rate in Greece soared to 27.2 percent in January according to figures released on Thursday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), with some 3,400 people losing their job every working day in the first month of the year.
This compares with a rate of 21.7 percent a year earlier as 270,629 jobs were lost in the 12 months since January 2012. However, the annual rise in unemployment is significantly smaller than a year earlier, as between January 2011 and January 2012 job losses had amounted to 363,369.
The total number of registered jobless came to 1,348,742, which, combined with the 3,346,423 financially inactive people, means those employed are a mere minority in the country.
The jobless rate among people aged up to 24 has reached a new high, at 59.3 percent, while the regions with the highest rate of unemployment are Epirus and Western Macedonia, on 29.2 percent, and then Attica on 28.4 percent.
