Greek unemployment rises to 27%

Greek unemployment climbed to 27 percent of the workforce in February compared with 26.7 percent a month earlier, the state statistics agency said on Thursday. The number of unemployed rose to 1,320,189 while 3,568,186 were registered as employed. The highest rate was registered for youths aged 15-24, at 64.2 percent. A year ago in February unemployment had been 21.9 percent, the agency said. The jobless rate for January had been originally measured at 27.2 percent but was revised downwards. Women were more likely to be unemployed, at a rate of 31 percent compared with 24.1 percent for men. The heavily-indebted country has been in recession since 2008, with unemployment continuously on the rise. Dependent on international loans for its economic survival, Greece has had to accept harsh austerity measures in exchange for financial aid.