The Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) recorded a single-digit unemployment rate (9.6%) in October, for the first time after 14 years, despite the fact that the employed are fewer by almost 300,000 people.
In his exclusive statement to “Naftemporiki”, Labour Minister Adonis Georgiadis, expressed his satisfaction with this development, and announced that “new actions and programs are being prepared, which aim to integrate young people and reintegrate the unemployed into the labor market.”
On his part, the governor of the Public Employment Service (DYPA), Spyros Protopsaltis, focused on the effort that the organization will continue to make in order to subsidize work and to upgrade skills.
However, the scientific director of the labour institute of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), professor Giorgos Argitis, does not share the same optimism, who emphasizes that we must focus on more qualitative characteristics of the new jobs.
In any case, after a long period of economic crisis, when unemployment at its peak reached up to 28.1% (July and September 2013) and after several ups and downs, the rate has now been recorded in single digits.
However, ELSTAT’s data show that the more unemployment is reduced, the slower its de-escalation. It is characteristic that while it was at 11.3% in January, ten consecutive months had to pass before it was reduced in single digits. Also, from January to July, it was unable to break the “barrier” of 11% and had a path that sometimes, even marginally, was upward.
More specifically, the Greek unemployment rate dropped to 9.6% in October from 11.8% in October 2022 and a revised upwards 10.3% rate in September 2023, Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Thursday.
The number of unemployed people totaled 454,783, down 98,636 from October 2022 (-17.9%) and down 28,316 from September 2023 (-5.9%). The unemployment rate among women was 12.1% (16.1% in October 2022) and among men 7.6% (8.5% in October 2022).
The 15-24 age group recorded the highest unemployment rate (23.7% from 28.2% in October 2022), while the 25-74 age group had an 8.7% unemployment rate (11% last year).
The number of employed people totaled 4,257,939, up 3.5% from October 2022 and up 1.3% from September 2023.
