Eurostat: Greece Unemployment at 17% in May

The Hellenic Parliament in Athens.

Greece’s jobless rate increased from 15.7 percent in April 2020 to 17 percent in May, according to the latest data released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical service, on Tuesday.

Hardest hit were the young under 25, with the unemployment rate reaching 37.5 percent in May against 32.6 percent in April.

Women were also impacted more compared to their male counterparts with the unemployment rate at 21.8 percent in May, up from 18.8 percent in April, compared to 13.3 percent from 13.1 percent for men.

According to Greece’s Manpower Employment Organization (OAED), despite opening up to tourism in July, Greece saw its unemployment rate soar by an additional 125,000 people to more than 1 million compared to the same month in 2019.

According to the same data, a total of 1.09 million people in Greece are currently without a job, 147,000 of whom receiving unemployment benefits.

EU Unemployment on the Rise

In the EU meanwhile, the gradual reopening of economies after Covid-19 lockdowns has failed to stimulate the job market with the seasonally adjusted July unemployment in both the euro area and the EU moving upward.

Source: Eurostat

More specifically, unemployment in the eurozone climbed to 7.9 percent in July  from 7.7 in June and for the EU to 7.2 percent from 7.1 percent in June.

According to Eurostat data, nearly 15.2 million people –12.8 million of whom in the euro area – were jobless in July this year.

More specifically, an additional 336,000 people in the EU and 344,000 in the eurozone lost their jobs in July compared to June 2020, up by 0.1 percent and o.2 percent, respectively.

Again, the younger generations were more impacted in July, with 2.9 million unemployed in the EU under the age of 25, of which 2.3 million in the eurozone. Unemployment rates among the young in July 2020 stood at 17 percent from 16.9 percent and 17.3 percent in the eurozone up from 17.2 percent in June.

Compared to June 2020, youth unemployment increased by 37,000 in the EU and 29,000 in the euro area.

Source: Eurostat

Meanwhile, July unemployment among females stood at 7.5 percent in the EU up from 7.3 percent in June, compared to 7.0 percent among males from 6.8 percent in June 2020.

In the euro area, unemployment among women grew from 8.0 percent in June 2020 to 8.3 percent in July, and from 7.5 percent to 7.6 percent among males.