The jobless rate in Greece hit a record high of 21.9 per cent in March, official data showed.
The
sharp rise in unemployment rates has been attributed by analysts to steep
spending cuts, salaries and pensions reductions and tax hikes introduced since 2010, as part of the country's efforts to address the debt crisis in return for
multi-billion euro aid packages from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.
The figure was up from 21.4 per cent in the previous month and 15.7 per cent a year earlier, according to the country's statistics agency ELSTAT.
As the country
struggles to tackle a severe debt crisis and avoid a disorderly default and
an exit from the eurozone, over one million people are now unemployed, while 3.8 million are employed, reported
Xinhua.
Young Greeks have been the hardest hit, with 52.8 per cent of those in the 15-24 age group jobless in March, up from 41 per cent last year, according to ELSTAT data. About 29.8 per cent of those aged between 25 and 34 do not have a job, compared to 22 per cent a year earlier, the data showed.
Plagued by the recession, angry voters supported anti-austerity parties that campaign against the terms of the two bailout deals with lenders during the May 6 elections that gave no party parliamentary majority.
Greece is heading for fresh elections June 17.
With IANS inputs 
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