Long-term jobless figure grows
Almost three in every five jobless Greeks have been out of work for a year or more, even though the overall number of people registered as unemployed at the Manpower Organization (OAED) posted a decline in September.
According to the monthly data that OAED released on Friday, the number of the recorded jobless shrank to 886,022 last month from 921,808 in August, a decrease of 35,786 people. Compared to September 2016, the drop (regardless of whether those individuals were seeking work or not) came to 58,719.
However, concerns are mounting over the fact that out of all the jobless registered as such at OAED last month, 525,958 – or 59.36 percent of them – are considered long-term unemployed, meaning they have not had a job for at least 12 months.
Comparing that figure with the 506,956 unemployed who were in the same position in September 2016 reveals that within that one year the long-term jobless increased by 19,002 people, which illustrates how difficult it can be to find work having been out of the labor market for a long period of time.
The statistics published also indicate that the number of jobless people receiving the unemployment allowance has increased by a considerable 25.86 percent on a monthly basis. The number of people receiving the benefit reached 135,174 people, 27,773 more than the 107,401 recipients in August. There was, however, a small decline of 949 people from the 136,123 who were entitled to the benefit in September last year.
Women continue to be hit harder than men by unemployment, as the figure of 565,339 female jobless workers amounted to 63.8 percent of people registered as unemployed last month.
Although there is a higher rate of unemployment in the 18-24 age group, according to Hellenic Statistical Authority data, the 30-44 age bracket has the biggest share of those registered as unemployed at OAED (38.7 percent), accounting for 343,324 jobless. A huge share (45.69 percent or 404,855 people) are high school graduates and 18.2 percent or 162,102 people hold a university degree.
