Greece’s unemployment rate increased to 26.6% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to 26.1% during the fourth quarter of last year, according to the non-seasonally adjusted data published by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) on Thursday. The highest unemployment rate recorded in Greece on a quarterly basis is 27.8%, during the first quarter of 2014. In total, the unemployed people in Greece amount to 1,272,541 persons, with approximately 71.6% of them being long-term unemployed, which means that they have been looking for work for over 12 months. The number of unemployed people increased by 2.1% compared to the previous quarter and decreased by 5.2% compared to the first quarter of 2014. Furthermore, the number of employed Greek citizens increased by 0.9% compared to the previous quarter. The ELSTAT data show that unemployment rate for women (30.6%) is significantly higher than the unemployment rate for men (23.5%). Meanwhile, the highest unemployment rate was recorded among young people aged 15-24, reaching 51.9% for young men and 57% for young women. Furthermore, in regards to different Greek regions, the highest unemployment rate was recorded in western Greece and western Macedonia, standing at 29.0%, and the Ionian Islands at 28.9%. In contrast, the lowest unemployment rate was recorded in the northern Aegean Sea with 20.2% and the Peloponnese with 23.9%.
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