As unemployment in Greece continues to hamper society, especially among the youth, notwithstanding a slight downward trend, a piece of encouraging news deriving from an OECD report gives cause for some optimism.
The Organization reports the country experienced one of the largest rate increases in employment in the second quarter of 2024 among OECD members.
The data revealed the job rate settled at 63.9%, compared to 62.7% in the first quarter and 57.3% in 2021.
Despite this positive indicator, it still fell short of the OECD average as a total percentage, which was 70.2%, the data showed.
The OECD report said Greece’s labor force participation rate stood at 70.9%, while the corresponding rate in OECD countries reached 74%.
The overall jobless in Greece was 9.5% in August 2024, down from 12.5% in 2021, with male unemployment at 7.7% and female unemployment at 11.6% for the month.
Overall, employment and labor force participation rates across OECD countries were stable in the second quarter of this year, reaching the highest levels recorded since 2005 and 2008, respectively, according to the data. Both indicators reached or approached record highs in 13 of the 38 OECD countries, including France, Germany, Japan, and Mexico.
The employment rate was above the OECD average (70.2%) in two-thirds of OECD countries. However, rates remained particularly low in Mexico and Turkey, despite Turkey reaching a record high employment rate of 55.1%, still the lowest among OECD countries.
Youth unemployment (ages 15 to 24) was 19.4% in August 2024, while unemployment for those over 25 years old stood at 8.9%, according to OECD data.
Employment increased in 18 OECD countries compared to the previous quarter, with the largest gains seen in Estonia, Greece, and Iceland, based on the Organization’s data. Employment fell in five OECD countries, with the largest decreases observed in Costa Rica, Finland, and Slovenia.
