Data released on Thursday by the Greek statistics agency ELSTAT show that the unemployment rate dropped to 21.7 percent in April from 22.0 percent in the previous month.
The seasonally adjusted data showed that the number of officially unemployed reached 1.04 million people. Hardest hit were young people aged 15 to 24 years, with their jobless rate dropping to 45.5 percent from 49.9 percent in April last year.
ELSTAT data show that the number of those in employment increased by 79,833 compared to April 2016 (2.2% increase) and by 23,943 compared to March 2017 (an increase of 0.6%).
Those unemployed dropped by 92,657 compared to April 2016 (a reduction of 8.2%) and by 12,927 compared to March 2017 (down 1.2%).
Economically inactive, ie those who are neither working nor looking for work, fell by 22,850 compared to April 2016 (down 0.7%) and by 14,181 compared to March 2017 (a decrease of 0.4%).
Greece’s jobless rate hit a record high of 27.9 percent in September 2013. It has come down from record highs but remains more than double the euro zone’s average.
Unemployment in the 19 countries sharing the euro stood at 9.3 percent in April.
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