Greek jobless rate steady at 21.2 pct in first quarter

Greece's jobless rate stayed unchanged at 21.2 percent in January-to-March from the fourth quarter of 2017, data from the country's statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday.

About 68.4 percent of Greece's 1.001 million jobless are long-term unemployed, meaning they have been out of work for at least 12 months, the figures showed.

Greece's highest unemployment rate was recorded in the first quarter of 2014, when joblessness hit 27.8 percent.

Athens has already published monthly unemployment figures through March, which differ from quarterly data because they are based on different samples and are seasonally adjusted. March unemployment stood at 20.1 percent.

Quarterly figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Greece's economy grew for a fifth straight quarter in January-March and at a faster pace than in the previous quarter, driven by stronger...