One in three unemployed has been out of work for at least four years

Long-term unemployment is proving a particularly tough nut to crack in Greece, as data released on Thursday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) for the fourth quarter of last year showed that one in every three jobless people has been out of work for more than four years.

In total the share of the long-term jobless (those without work for at least 12 months) came to 71.8 percent of all the country's registered unemployed, who numbered 1,006,844 people in Q4 2017.

Furthermore, the need for employment is so great that the vast majority of jobless (80.4 percent or 809,400 people) say they would willingly accept a part-time position, compared to a 46.8 percent rate in 2012.

The official unemployment rate at the end of December came to 21.2 percent, compared to 23.6 percent a year earlier. However, as the Greek economy is dominated by its seasonal features,...