Hellenic Statistical Authority

The road to fiscal sovereignty for Greece is not a smooth one. Despite the government's optimism and the helpful assurances of European officials, there has been no shortage of reminders of the challenges the country faces as it heads toward the post-memorandum era.

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.

Greece's jobless rate rose by a full percentage point to 21.2 percent in October-to-December from 20.2 percent in the third quarter, data from the country's statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday.

About 71.8 percent of Greece's 1.006 million jobless are long-term unemployed, meaning they have been out of work for at least 12 months, the figures showed.

Despite the decline recorded in December, last year proved to be the first year that construction activity increased since 2005, provisional figures from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) showed on Monday.

The Finance Ministry has quietly revised its forecast for Greek economic growth in 2018, putting it at 2.3 percent against the budget estimate for 2.5 percent, also included in the latest compliance report by the European Commission.

The economy performed worse than expected last year, as provisional figures released on Monday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) put the expansion of the country's gross domestic product at just 1.4 percent compared to 2016, against estimates by the government and its creditors for annual growth of 1.6 percent.

Greece's economy expanded for a fourth straight quarter in October-to-December last year but at a slower pace than in the previous quarter, statistics service (ELSTAT) said on Monday, upwardly revising data for the third quarter.

Greek retail sales by volume rose 1.8 percent in December compared to the same month a year ago after an upwardly revised 2.6 percent drop in November, statistics service ELSTAT said on Wednesday.

Retail sales were led higher by appliances, books, cosmetics and drugs, the data showed.

Greece's jobless rate was steady at 20.9 percent in November, unchanged from an upwardly revised figure in October, the country's statistics service ELSTAT said on Thursday.

Seasonally adjusted data showed the number of unemployed at 995,899 people, with younger persons aged up to 24 bearing the brunt of being out of work.

There was an almost 13 percent drop in the number of road accidents that led to death or injury in November last year compared to the same month in 2016.

According to the ELSTAT statistics agency, there were 853 road accidents leading to 53 deaths, 52 serious injuries and 936 light injuries in November last year