Jobless rate records marginal drop
Greece’s high unemployment rate posted a minor decline in January compared with the previous month, slipping to 25.7 percent from 25.9 percent in December 2014, according to data released on Thursday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
The seasonally adjusted figures showed that joblessness dropped by 1.5 percentage points in 12 months, as in January 2014 it had stood at 27.2 percent.
Data show that the total number of employed people came to 3,534,594, the unemployed figure was 1,220,828 and the financially inactive population added up to 3,350,597 people.
The number of jobless decreased by 1.1 percent compared to December, or 13,435 people, while the decline from January 2014 amounted to 6.7 percent or 87,228 people. The figure for the financially inactive went down by 2,824 (or 0.1 percent) on a yearly basis but increased by 6,593 from December 2014.
Unemployment among women remains considerably higher than that among men, at 29.6 percent against 22.5 percent. The jobless rate among 15- to 24-year-olds is stubbornly sticking above the 50 percent mark, amounting to 50.1 percent. The 25-34-year-old bracket had a 34.1 percent rate and the 35-to-44-year-old group recorded 23.3 percent unemployment.
