Greece: Unemployment rate rises in January
The number of unemployed workers decreased by 119,643 in January compared to December 2020, while the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 16.0% from December 2020’s 15.6%. However, the print was below January 2020’s result of 16.4%.
Greece’s unemployment rate had been falling steadily, since peaking at around 28% in the summer of 2013, until the Covid-19 pandemic struck. That said, although the unemployment rate has started to decline towards February 2020’s nine-year low, it is expected to remain elevated going forward as Covid-19-associated restrictions will likely impact the labor market in the first few months of 2021.
Meanwhile, youth unemployment—categorized by individuals between the ages of 15–24—rose to 43.4% in January, following December 2020’s 34.3% print.