Recession tunnel gets darker 
 
		
		
	
	 Second-quarter GDP data shows economy in worse shape; May jobless figures soar 
By Stelios Bouras - Kathimerini English Edition / 
sbouras@ekathimerini.com
 Belt-tightening measures aimed at restoring Greece's fiscal health  sent the economy into a deeper-than-expected recession in the second  quarter of the year, forcing a growing number of workers into  unemployment.
Provisional data released by the Hellenic  Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) yesterday showed gross domestic product  (GDP) contracted by 3.5 percent on an annual basis, versus a drop of 2.3  percent in the first quarter of the year. Quarter-on-quarter it  contracted by 1.5 percent.
Polls conducted by Reuters and Bloomberg showed that economists were looking for a annual contraction rate of 3.3-3.4 percent.
Alpha  Bank blamed a large part of the drop off on a 39.8 percent cut in the  government's investment program in the first half of the year, adding  that a recovery in spending on public investments after June will help  support growth.
«It is likely that the Greek economy's recession is peaking,» it said in a report yesterday.
The  European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central  Bank, which agreed to lend Athens 110 billion euros, expect the economy  to contract by 4 percent this year but Finance Minister Giorgos  Papaconstantinou is more upbeat, recently predicting a less severe  contraction rate.
Greece has promised to reduce its budget deficit  by 13.7 billion euros in 2010 to 18.6 billion euros, or 8.1 percent of  GDP, in exchange for the rescue funds but the state's austerity measures  are taking a heft toll on the economy.
The deficit cut, which  translates into a massive 12-month fiscal adjustment, is a result of  value-added tax hikes and cuts to pensions and public servants'  salaries, which are eroding household disposable income.
Giorgos  Kasimatis, the president of the Central Union of Chambers of Greece  (KEEE), said earlier this week more than 100,000 businesses across  Greece are heading for closure due to plunging consumption, putting  150,000 jobs at risk.
ELSTAT data on May unemployment yesterday  highlighted the deteriorating labor market conditions, particularly  among younger Greeks.
Unemployment in May jumped to 12 percent  from 8.5 percent in the same month a year earlier, which means that  181,784 people lost their jobs. Greece's working population stands at  4.43 million people.
One in three people aged between 15 to 24  were out of work in May while the jobless rate for those aged between  25-34 stands at 15.8 percent. The jobless figure in the 27-member  European Union stood at 10 percent.
Unemployment is expected to  rise sharply by the end of the year, according to the Greek General  Confederation of Labor (GSEE), which sees the figure rising to as high  as 20 percent due to the downturn and recently introduced changes to  labor laws, allowing employers more flexibility in cutting staff  numbers.