New February data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) point to a slight drop in unemployment across Greece, which remains, however, at a nosebleed level of 26.5 percent, down from 26.6 percent in January, and 26.7 percent a year ago.
A total of 3,609,445 people were estimated to be employed as of February 2014, while 1,300,165 were unemployed and 3,408,565 were not seeking for a job.
ELSTAT’s Thursday report shows the number of jobless fell by 14,996 since February 2013 (1.1 percent drop), and by 7,987 people since January 2014 (0.6 percent drop).
It is the first time Greece’s unemployment rates have fallen compared to the same month of the previous year, only to reveal, however, that a further 25,251 Greeks (0.6 percent increase) have given up their search for a job since February 2013.
The unemployment rate is skewed by younger Greeks. According to the data, the unemployment rate among young Greeks aged between 15 and 24 years, was at 56.9 percent in February 2014, down 0.2 percent on February 2013 (60.1 percent), and almost twice as much as four years ago (February 2010: 31.2 percent).
Last week, the European Union’s statistical service Eurostat showed Greece’s 26.7 percent unemployment rate to be Europe’s highest for January 2014, followed by Spain at 25.3 percent.
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