ATHENS – The unemployment rate in Greece was 12.8 pct in January 2022, down from 16.2 pct in January 2021 and 12.8 pct in December 2021, the independent statistics agency ELSTAT reported on Wednesday.

According to ELSTAT, the number of unemployed was 587,152 in January 2022, dropping by 123,563 (17.4 pct) from the previous year and by 7,100 (1.2 pct) in relation to December.

For women, the unemployment rate was 16.9 pct (down from 19.8 pct in January 2021), while for men it stood at 9.6 pct, down from 13.3 pct. Unemployment remained high for the 15-24 age group at 32.6 pct, falling from 45.2 pct the previous year.

The number of people in employment was 3,995,622, increased by 312,199 or 8.5 pct since January 2021, and down by 68,799 persons (1.7 pct) since December 2021. The number of persons who are not working or seeking work was 3,262,045.