Greek Unemployment Rate Rises To 13.9% In November
ATHENS -(Dow Jones)- Greece΄s unemployment rate continued to rise in November last year, reaching 13.9%, sharply higher than the 10.6% rate in the corresponding month of 2009, and above the 13.5% rate in October, the statistics service ELLSTAT said Thursday.
Greece is struggling through a protracted recession while undertaking a tough three-year austerity and reform program to cut its budget deficit. In 2009, Greece΄s unemployment rate averaged 9.5%.
The number of people employed also fell further, to 4.30 million in November from 4.36 million a month earlier.
Young people remain the age group hardest hit by Greece΄s deepening recession. The data showed 35.6% of people aged between 15 and 24 were without a job in November, up from 27.8% a year earlier.
Women also continued to see fewer job opportunities than men. The number of unemployed women stood at 17.0% in November, up from 13.3% a year earlier, but down from a 17.6% rate in October.
By region, the highest unemployment was in the Ionian Islands, where unemployment reached 16.2%, reflecting, in part, higher joblessness during the tourism off-season.
In the Attica region, the province that includes Athens and is home to about half the country's population, unemployment was 13.9% in November, down from 14.4% in October.
In its 2011 budget, the Greek government estimates that unemployment will rise to 14.5% in 2011 before peaking at 15% in 2012. However, labor unions say joblessness could reach as high as 20% this year.
Since May of last year, Greece has been implementing a tough austerity program in exchange for a EUR110 billion loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
In its official forecast, the IMF predicts that Greek unemployment will peak at 15.2% in 2012.