Greece’s unemployment rate was 27 percent in February, up from 26.7 percent a month earlier and still hovering around the record 27.2 percent mark that was set earlier before being revised.
The statistics were particularly hard on Greece’s young, rising to 64.2 percent for those under 24, which means only one in three of them has a job. That has sent many fleeing to other countries in search of work and a new life as the government touts that it will create more jobs, but hasn’t explained how.
Even those who do find work are being paid less under minimum wage cuts and as the private sector has cut pay to keep pace with big salary cuts as part of austerity measures that include big tax hikes and slashed pensions.
The number of unemployed rose to 1,320,189 while 3,568,186 were registered as employed. A year ago in February unemployment had been 21.9 percent, the agency said. The jobless rate for January had been originally measured at 27.2 percent but was revised downwards.
Women were more likely to be unemployed, at a rate of 31 percent compared with 24.1 percent for men. The heavily-indebted country has been in recession since 2008, with unemployment continuously on the rise. Dependent on international loans for its economic survival, Greece has had to accept harsh austerity measures in exchange for financial aid.
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