Unemployment keeps decreasing in Greece

By Roula Salourou

The slight but steady decline in the unemployment rate continued in October 2014, when it dropped to 25.8 percent from 26 percent in the previous month and from 27.8 percent a year earlier, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) announced on Thursday.

Figures showed that the number of jobless numbered 1,245,340 in October, recording an annual decline of 104,263 people or 7.7 percent, and a drop of 13,491 people and 1.1 percent from September 2014.

There was a smaller but also important expansion in employment at the same time. The number of employed people reached 3,585,234, posting a rise of 72,379 (or 2.1 percent) from October 2013 and an increase of 6,853 (or 0.2 percent) from last September. The financially inactive population numbered 3,288,819, down 8,384 from a year earlier, representing a reduction of 0.3 percent.

Unemployment among women remained higher than that among men, but dropped from 31.9 percent in October 2013 to 29.2 percent this year. Among men the rate fell to 23.1 percent from 24.6 percent.

Those aged 15 to 24 are still the group with the highest jobless rate, at 50.6 percent, but this was significantly lower than the 57.4 percent posted in October 2013. The 25-34 age group had a 34.5 percent rate, while the 45-54 bracket was on 20.8 percent and those aged between 55 and 64 had a one-in-six (16.5 percent) rate.

In contrast, seasonally adjusted data released by the Manpower Organization (OAED) concerning November 2014 recorded a significant monthly increase in the number of unemployed, by 43,980 people, climbing to 1,060,067. This constitutes a 4.3 percent rise from October 2014 and is mostly attributed to the end of the tourism season.