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| 26 (Photo credit: Eva the Weaver) |
Unemployment in Greece skyrocketed to 26 percent in September this year, with the number of unemployed nearing 2.3 million, posting a 38 percent rise in a single year and youth up to 26 years of age the hardest hit at 56.4 percent, followed by women at 30.1 percent, according to figures released on Thursday by the independent Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), which also said that Attica prefecture (greater Athens area), where two-thirds of the country's population lives, has the second highest unemployment rate among the regions of Greece at 27.6 percent.
In its report, ELSTAT said that the unemployment rate in September 2012 was 26.0% compared to 18.9% in September 2011 and 25.3% in August 2012. The number of employed amounted to 3,695,053 persons. The number of unemployed amounted to 1,295,203 while the number of inactive to 3,373,692. The number of employed decreased by 325,334 persons compared with September 2011 (an 8.1% rate of decrease) and by 21,626 persons compared with August 2012 (a 0.6% rate of decrease).
The 15-24 age bracket was the hardest hit, with unemployment jumping to 56.4 percent from 47.6 percent in September last year, followed by the 25-34 age group with 34.3 percent (25.6 percent in September 2011), the 35-44 age group with 21.9 percent (from 15.5 percent in September 2011), the 45-54 age group with 19.5 percent (from 13.3 percent in September 2011), the 55-64 age group with 13.5 percent (from 8.3 in September 2011) and the 65-74 age group with 6.9 percent (from 3.0 percent in September 2011). (AMNA)