Greek unemployment at record high

The number of people out of work in Greece has hit a new record.

The unemployment rate was 21.7 percent of the workforce in February and in the 15-24 age group, joblessness stood at a record 54 percent.

Nearly 1.1 million people were out of work, 42 percent more than in the same month last year, with the situation worst in big urban centres, particularly Athens.

The latest figures underscored the pain inflicted by the austerity measures required by the EU and IMF.

Over the last couple of years, there has been a wave of layoffs, bankruptcies and company closures in the wake of government budget cuts.

They have been imposed under the terms of the international bailout to save Greece from a chaotic default.

It is estimated Greece’s economy will have shrunk by about 20 percent from 2008, in the country’s deepest and longest post-war recession, with around half a million jobs being destroyed in the process.

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