Unemployment Rate in Greece Down 8.9% in January: IOBE

The unemployment rate in Greece recorded a further decline in January 2025, reaching 8.9%, according to the latest Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (IOBE) report.

The number of jobless individuals decreased to 410,000, marking a 31.4% drop compared to the previous year over the same period. Meanwhile, employment increased by 1.3% year-on-year, reaching 4.21 million workers in January 2025.

Employment in the industrial sector saw a 0.3% increase in Q3 2024, while overall employment across the economy grew by 1.6% year-on-year.

Factory capacity utilization declined to 74.7% in January, down from 78% in October 2024. The secured production period also fell to 4.9 months, compared to 6 months in October.

Industrial exports rose by 12.7% year-on-year, reaching €2.4 billion in December 2024. However, the trade deficit widened to €3.8 billion, up from €3.7 billion a year earlier.

Among the top industrial export products of 2024 were pharmaceuticals with €2.8 billion (+0.6%); aluminum with €2.5 billion (+4.9%).

Greece’s GDP grew by 2.6% in Q4 2024, following a 2.3% increase in Q3 2024. This growth rate was stronger than the EU average, which stood at 1.4%.

Despite the positive GDP figures, the economic climate weakened in February, mainly due to a slowdown in construction and services, although industry and retail trade improved, and consumer confidence strengthened.

The economic sentiment index dropped to 106.9 points in February, down from 108.6 in January, but still higher than the 104.7 recorded a year earlier.

Industrial production increased by 1.9% in January 2025 compared to the previous year, with mixed trends across different sectors.