Greek unemployment stops declining

By Roula Salourou

The Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) announced on Thursday that the country?s unemployment rate in March was marginally lower than a year earlier, but also at the same level as in February 2015, according to the seasonally adjusted figures.

The data for the adjusted jobless rate pointed to 25.6 percent of potential workers being out of work in March 2015, compared with a downwardly revised rate of 26.9 percent in the same month last year and the upwardly revised rate of 25.6 percent in February 2015.

The total figure of people employed in March 2014 was estimated at 3,518,858, while the unemployed amounted to 1,211,507 people. The financially inactive population was seen at 3,368,392 individuals.

The number of the people in work had expanded by 14,056 since March 2014 ? i.e. an increase of 0.4 percent ? but went down by 16,092 people from February 2014, a 0.5 percent decline. Similarly, the number of jobless individuals contracted by 79,395 in March from a year earlier (down by 6.2 percent), but only by 4,283 people in comparison with a month earlier (down 0.4 percent). The financially inactive population ? i.e. those who are neither working nor seeking work ? increased by 13,891 people in March from the same month in 2014 (a rise of 0.4 percent) and by 16,751 from February 2015 (a 0.5 percent increase).

In terms of unemployment in the various age groups, the 15-24 bracket enjoyed a decline from 56.4 percent in March 2014 to 49.7 percent a year later, while in the 25-34 age group the jobless rate fell from 35.4 percent in March 2014 to 33 percent in the same month this year. However, there was an annual increase among 35-44-year-olds (from 23.7 to 24.1 percent), 45-54-year-olds (from 20.6 to 20.9 percent...