Greece: Unemployment drops in March
The number of unemployed workers decreased by 18,384 in March compared to February, while the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 16.3% from February’s upward revised 16.6% (previously reported: 15.9%). However, the print was above February 2020’s result of 15.7%.
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 the labor market feels the brunt of lockdown restrictions which lasted until mid-Q2.
Meanwhile, youth unemployment—categorized by individuals between the ages of 15–24—inched up to 37.5% in March from 37.4% in the prior month.