2006 unemployment rate hits a 9-year low
Greece’s jobless rate rose to 8.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 but the full-year average rate fell to a nine-year low, below the government’s annual target, the National Statistics Service (NSS) said yesterday. Identified as the top economic worry in successive opinion polls, Greek unemployment had been stuck at levels substantially higher than the 13-member eurozone’s average, despite the local economy’s much faster expansion rates. The center-right government, facing elections next spring at the latest, argues that falling unemployment shows its pro-business policies, such as lower taxes, are working. NSS data showed the average 2006 unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent. The government had projected unemployment would average 9.2 percent in 2006. It expects it to fall further to 8.2 percent this year even though economic growth is seen as decelerating to 3.9 from 4.3 percent last year on stronger exports and domestic consumption. The 13 countries sharing the euro had an overall jobless rate of 7.4 percent in January. Long-term unemployed, defined by the NSS as people out of work for more than 12 months, made up 54.81 percent of the total number of jobless people – a sign that structural unemployment remains a problem despite a growing economy. (Reuters)
