Though the unemployment rate in Greece has very gradually dropped to 18.6 percent, youth unemployment remains enormous, at over 30 percent.
The unemployment rate among youth up to the age of 24 was 36.6 percent, while among young people between the ages of 24-34, the rate was 24.3 percent.
As was stated even by the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises in its last bulletin on the economy, the unemployed continue to be in an exceptionally difficult position.
In short, Greek youth continue to be the worst hit in the country’s nearly nine-year economic crisis.
ELSTAT’s Data
According to the data released by ELSTAT (the Hellenic Statistical Authority), the overall unemployment rate in September was 18.6 percent, (compared to 20.8 percent in the same month in 2017). The rate in August, 2018 was 18.9 percent.
There were 3.879mn people employed while the unemployed numbered 887,000. The economically inactive population numbered 3.199mn people.
The number of employed people rose by 2.3 percent (88,205) on an annual basis, and by 0.5 percent (18,240) on a monthly basis.
There were 111,221 fewer unemployed persons (11.1 percent), and 10,154 persons on a monthly basis.
The economically inactive segment of the workforce declined by 0.5 percent (15,571 people) compared to September, 2017, and by 0.4 percent (11,448 people) on a monthly basis, as compared to August, 2018.
On a geographical basis, the highest unemployment rates were in the region of Epirus and Western Macedonia (23.4 percent) and the Western Macedonia-Thrace region (19.5 percent).
