Shocking unemployment for the first quarter of 2012

As the saying goes: “numbers do not always tell the truth”, in case of unemployment, however, the numbers published by ELSTAT are characteristic of the dramatic situation in our country.

So, according to ELSTAT data for the first quarter of 2012, unemployment stood at 22.6%, from 20.7% in the fourth quarter last year.

This is the highest unemployment rate since 1998. In the first quarter of 2011, unemployment had risen to 15.9%.

As the announcement of ELSTAT goes, during the first quarter of 2012, the number of employed people totaled 3.837.950 and there were 1.120.097 unemployed. The unemployment rate was 22.6% against 20.7% in the previous quarter and 15.9% in the respective quarter of 2011.

Employment fell by 2.4% compared to the previous quarter and by 10.7% compared to 2011’s first quarter. The number of unemployed increased by 9.2% over the previous quarter and by 57.3% over the first quarter of 2011.

The female unemployment rate at 26.5% is significantly higher than males, at 19.7%.

The highest unemployment rate is among young people aged 15-24 (52.7%), which for young women stands at 60.4%.

The highest unemployment rate is seen in those that have not attended school (34.3%). People who have completed some primary school grades follow with 33.1% and graduates of middle education with 25.2%. Lowest rates are observed for those with a PhD or a master’s diploma at 12.0% and graduates of higher education at 15.7%.

The percentage of “newly” unemployed, ie those entering the labor market seeking employment for the first time, amount to 23.8% of the total unemployed, while the long-term unemployed (those looking for work for 12 months and above) are at 56.5%.

The unemployment rate for persons of foreign citizenship is greater than that of the Greeks (30.5% against 21.8%). Also 71.7% of foreign subjects is financially active, which is significantly higher than that of Greeks at 51.7%.

At a regional level, the highest unemployment rate is in Western Macedonia with 28.5% and Central Macedonia with 24.7%. In contrast, the lowest unemployment rate is in the South Aegean at 13.9% and the Ionian isles at 15.9%.