Modern Greek tragedy
Greece's unemployment rate continued to accelerate in December, rising to 14.8% compared with 10.2% in December 2009, the statistics service ELLSTAT said Wednesday. The December rate is also almost a full percentage point higher than the 13.9% rate recorded in November by the revamped national statistics agency.
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 4.23 million in December from 4.30 million a month earlier.
Young people remain hardest hit by Greece's deepening recession, with 39% of those aged between 15 and 24 without a job in December, up from 28.9% a year earlier, the data showed.
Women also continued to see fewer job opportunities than men, with the number of unemployed women at 18.7% in December, compared with 14.8% a year earlier.
By region, the highest unemployment was in the Ionia Islands, where the jobless rate reached 23.1%, compounded by lack of off-season tourism jobs. In the Attica region, the province that includes Athens and is home to about half the country's population, unemployment was 14% in December, slightly higher than the rate of 13.9% in November, but much higher that the 9.2% rate recorded a year earlier.
In its 2011 budget, the Greek government estimated 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 €110 billion ($152.9 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.
The best talent will leave the country and we are seeing an increase in the number of English speaking Greeks registering with
ourselves as they look to escape the current economic difficulties. However, much of Europe has deep seated problems so they need be looking at
working in Australia which is a traditional refuge for Greeks in difficult times.
(European Recruitment Agency)
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La drammatica situazione occupazionale.