The unemployment rate has started rising again in the last quarter of 2014, after a brief period of decline, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) reports. For the period October-December 2014, the unemployment figure climbed to 26.1 percent with 1,245,854 Greeks without jobs, according to the study published on Thursday. Ever since the economic crisis hit Greece, the highest rate was 28 percent in September 2013 and the lowest was 25.5 percent in August 2012. The rise is attributed to the political and economic instability generated by the prospect of the presidential election and snap general elections and the possibility of government change, ELSTAT says. The study further shows that eight out of 10 jobless Greeks are so desperate to find work that they are prepared to take any job offered to them. The rate of long-term unemployed (those out of work for at least 12 months) is continuing to climb, reaching 73 percent against 72 percent a year earlier.