Photo Caption: Greece’s two largest labor unions strike in front of Greece’s Parliament building to protest austerity measures.
Poverty Deepens in Greece As Unemployment Reaches 27%, 61% For Youth
Unemployment in Greece rose to a record 27 percent in November as a result of the financial crisis and austerity measures that will leave, according to one survey, nearly a third of the population in poverty by the end of the year.
The Statistics Agency said unemployment increased from a rate of 26.6 percent in October and 20.8 percent in November the previous year. More than 30,000 people lost their job in November, the agency said, with the jobless rate accelerating from earlier in the year.
Worst affected are the young, with 61.7 percent of those in the 15-24 age group without a job.
Greece is mired in the sixth year of a recession, and has been relying for nearly three years on international rescue loans to keep it afloat. In return for the bailout, the government has imposed major spending cuts and tax hikes which have hammered the economy, causing an increase in poverty and forcing thousands of businesses to close.
New tax hikes that went into effect this month have added further pressure on the shrinking workforce: 3.6 million Greeks remain employed, but 3.3 million are registered as inactive and 1.35 million are unemployed, according to the November figures.
A study by Greece’s largest labor union, GSEE, released this week projected that 3.9 million out of Greece’s total population of nearly 11 million will be officially living in poverty by the end of the year, compared with 3.1 million in 2011. The poverty line in Greece is set at a personal income of less than €7,200 ($9,700) per year.
Ioannis Kouzis, associate professor at Panteion University’s social policy department and adviser to GSEE, said the union’s research suggested the jobless rate would hit 30 percent later this year.
“There are 470,000 households without anyone working,” Kouzis told private Skai television.
“When the (austerity) measures started, unemployment was at 9 percent. Since then, incomes have been crushed and the official unemployment rate has reached 27 percent … So the notion that lower salaries will boost employment has proved to be totally false.”
Unions have called a general strike for Feb. 20, protesting the new tax hikes and a government decision to ax collective wage agreements in the public sector as part of an overhaul in pay scales for state-paid employees.
Source: anarcho-queer
117 Notes/ Hide
-
onitaset likes this
-
alexniggax2 reblogged this from disciplesofmalcolm
-
lili-y-caro likes this
-
fallintoyourarmstonight likes this
-
kwamezulushabazz likes this
-
tootsxmarley reblogged this from disciplesofmalcolm
-
tootsxmarley likes this
-
alexniggax2 likes this
-
disciplesofmalcolm reblogged this from dirtcrass
-
dirtcrass reblogged this from disciplesofmalcolm
-
thethinktankshop reblogged this from disquietingtruths
-
dannyfromla likes this
-
anunreliablesource reblogged this from politicalcrazyness
-
carolinamonstr reblogged this from politicalcrazyness
-
politicalcrazyness reblogged this from sinidentidades
-
newzat10 reblogged this from disciplesofmalcolm
-
ex-ist reblogged this from disciplesofmalcolm
-
ex-ist likes this
-
nullaevero reblogged this from disciplesofmalcolm
-
7thkmrob likes this
-
kalakaiya likes this
-
theyoungradical reblogged this from monimonster123
-
athena-mcgonagall likes this
-
fuckyeahdiomedes reblogged this from sanityscraps
-
thewestpole reblogged this from sanityscraps
-
gigi2690 reblogged this from sanityscraps
-
sanityscraps reblogged this from therecipe
-
therecipe reblogged this from disquietingtruths
-
xsilentcryx likes this
-
xiuho likes this
-
therecipe likes this
-
rubberbend reblogged this from disquietingtruths
-
seguun likes this
-
neverknwsbest likes this
-
timelessdrift reblogged this from disquietingtruths
-
timelessdrift likes this
-
disquietingtruths reblogged this from anarcho-queer
-
dendroica likes this
-
randomactsofchaos reblogged this from sinidentidades
-
randomactsofchaos likes this
-
littleblackkittycat likes this
-
lifeofwandering likes this
-
seattle-gadgets likes this
-
voleurscommenous reblogged this from sinidentidades
-
voleurscommenous likes this
-
sinidentidades reblogged this from anarcho-queer
-
realdaniel reblogged this from anarcho-queer
-
fattyfalldown likes this
-
comix likes this
-
silas216 reblogged this from anarcho-queer
- Show more notes

