Unemployment continues to rise in recession-hit GreeceSeptember 12, 2013 - 14:10 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Unemployment continues to rise in recession-hit Greece, with the overall rate reaching 27.9 percent in June. Even worse, 58.8 percent of people under age 25 are out of work. The Greek Statistical Authority said Thursday, Sept 12, that the jobless rate had risen from 24.6 percent the previous year. In June 2008 before the global financial crisis bared its teeth and Greece entered recession, the rate stood at 7.3 percent, The Associated Press reports. The jobless total stood at just over 1.4 million. In addition, around 3.33 million people in Greece are considered inactive, just shy of the 3.63 million in work. Years of emergency taxes, pay cuts, and other austerity measures implemented as a condition of international bailout loans have hammered Greece's private sector. The conservative-led government has promised to end the recession next year. The number of jobless in Europe fell slightly in July and business optimism rose, according to official data, adding to the tentative signs that the region's economy is staging a modest comeback. Europe's statistics office said the number of unemployed in the eurozone was down by 15,000 to 19.23 million, marking the second consecutive fall since April 2011. The jobless rate remained at a record of high of 12.1 percent. EU youth unemployment in July remained high with a total of 5.56 million under 25 registered as unemployed, even though it dipped slightly from 23.5 to 23.4 percent on the month. For the Eurozone, it rose by 0.1 point to 24 percent for the eurozone. According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia posted 16.9 percent unemployment rate in the Q1 2013, with 3.2 percent year-over-year drop reported. 23.3 percent jobless rate was recorded in Armenian cities, down from 28.8 percent in Q1 2012, with villages posting 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent last year. Employment agencies reported about 68,400 jobseekers. The Service listed 1,359,600 economically active people in Q1 2013, with the number dropping 4.5 percent against last year. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Mirzoyan says meeting with Bayramov was “constructive” At the moment, Ararat Mirzoyan said, there is no basis for additional comments. OSCE vows support for Armenia “in all three directions of security” Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. 151 detained as civil disobedience campaigns continue in Yerevan Citizens have been blocking streets in the Armenian capital, demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation. France welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan meeting in Almaty France has welcomed the new round of negotiations between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. |