Greek unemployment unchanged in November, eurozone's highest

Reuters

Published Feb 09, 2017 11:06

Greek unemployment unchanged in November, eurozone's highest

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's jobless rate came in at 23 percent in November, unchanged from the previous month, statistics agency ELSTAT said on Thursday.

The number of officially unemployed reached 1.1 million people. Hardest hit were young people aged 15 to 24 years, with their jobless rate dropping to 45.7 percent from 48.9 percent in the same month a year earlier.

The reading in November, based on seasonally adjusted data, was the lowest since March 2012 when unemployment stood at similar levels. The jobless rate hit a record high of 27.9 percent in September 2013.

Greece's jobless rate has come down from record highs but remains more than double the euro zone's average of 9.8 percent in November.

The economy expanded by 0.8 percent in July-to-September compared to the second quarter, with Athens projecting a stronger recovery this year after a protracted recession.