EUROZONE-GREECE/UNEMPLOYMENT/POLL Greek jobless rate rises, government support drops

Record ID: 150914

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/UNEMPLOYMENT/POLL Greek jobless rate rises, government support drops
  • Date: 11th June 2015
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF COMMUNIST PARTY LABOR UNION (PAME) SUPPORTER SPRAY-PAINTING ON THE STREET OUTSIDE THE ENTRANCE OF OCCUPIED FINANCE MINISTRY AS OTHER PAME SUPPORTERS HOLDING FLAGS LOOK ON VARIOUS OF PAME SUPPORTER SPRAY-PAINTING THE WORD 'NO' IN GREEK ENTIRE SLOGAN SPRAY-PAINTED ON STREET AS SEEN FROM OCCUPIED FINANCE MINISTRY'S BALCONY READING: (Greek) "NO TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA33MSKS55GSUS0TTCYQXV974UM
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Greece's jobless rate rose to 26.6 percent in the first three months of the year from 26.1 percent in the previous quarter, data showed on Thursday (June 11) while a new poll revealed more than half of Greeks are dissatisfied with their government's performance in negotiating with the country's international lenders.
    The highest unemployment rate in Greece had been 27.8 percent in the first quarter of 2014. About 71.6 percent of Greece's 1.27 million jobless are long-term unemployed, meaning they have been out of work for at least 12 months, according to figures from the country's statistics service (ELSTAT).
    Civil engineer Giannis Nestoras lost a low-paying job this month and is planning to emigrate to find a job with a better salary than the 586 euros he made per month last year. He said he doesn't believe anything will improve anytime soon, and that people with degrees should leave the country for a better life.
    "I don't see a solution, I think that until the year 2020, as far as unemployment goes, things will stay the same. My advice for the next generation with degrees: they should emigrate, to anywhere, they shouldn't stay because there is no future for them here," said the 43-year-old Nestoras.
    Unemployed nursery school teacher Natasha Arapopoulou has been out of work for two years. She says she has lost all hope that things will get better.
    "No, I don't feel any optimism at all, I think the situation is getting worse and worse. It's not all the fault of the current government, this started back in 2010 when we entered the bailout and the situation keeps getting worse, there is no development or anything," said 51-year-old Arapopoulou.
    Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is under intense pressure to deliver crucial concessions to international creditors to break a four-month deadlock and save his country from looming default that could pitch it out of the euro zone.
    To clinch a deal, EU officials said Tsipras's leftist government needed to offer alternative savings and tax measures to replace proposed pension cuts and tax rises he rejected as antisocial, to deliver a modest fiscal surplus before interest payments.
    The fear that Tsipras will cave in to lenders' demands caused members of the Communist party's labor union (PAME) to occupy the Greek finance ministry on Thursday ahead of an anti-austerity rally.
    An opinion poll carried out between June 7-10 by Marc for Alpha television, showed that 53.4 percent of those asked were not satisfied with the negotiating stance of the Syriza party-led coalition government against 45.5 percent who were satisfied, the first time that the leftist government's popularity dipped below 50 percent.
    A majority of 77.1 percent said the government should come to an agreement of some kind rather than break with lenders and 77.4 percent wants Greece to stay in the euro compared to 16 percent who favoured a return to the drachma.
    And while 59.8% percent said their overarching emotion was worry, Syriza maintained a comfortable lead in voter preference, with 34.2 percent saying they would vote for the leftists over 19.6 percent who chose New Democracy.
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