Greece jobless rate surges in October
(01-10 18:24)
Greece's jobless rate rose to 26.8 percent in October, the state statistics agency said on Thursday.
"Unemployment in October 2012 was 26.8 percent, compared with 19.7 percent in October 2011,'' the agency said in a statement, AFP reports.
There were over 1.3 million unemployed Greeks in that month with an additional 368,000 people on jobless registers compared to last year.
Trades unions say the real jobless figure is much higher.
The situation ahead looks dire for a country facing a sixth year of recession and forced to make additional cutbacks in order to maintain access to EU-IMF loans.
A draft budget presented to parliament late last year forecasts a sixth straight year of recession in 2013 with a 3.8-percent contraction.
Unemployment is expected to average out at 24.7 percent this year, the finance ministry said at the time.
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