By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) – Greece’s unemployment rate soared to 12.1% in the first quarter of 2024, the Greek Statistical Authority said on Thursday.
"The number of unemployed persons amounted to 574,130, recording an increase by 17.5% compared to the previous quarter and an increase by 4.3% compared to the same quarter of the previous year,” it added in statement.
The number of persons outside the labor force – those neither working nor looking for a job –amounted to nearly 4.3 million.
More particularly, persons outside the labor force under the age of 75 totaled 3.049 million.
According to the statistics authority, unemployment rates were highest among women, young people 24 and younger, residents of the Ionian Islands and southern Aegean, and those with only a few years of primary education.
The highest employment rates are in providing service and sales (22.2%) and professional occupations (22.1%).