Unemployment in May dropped to 19.5 percent (the lowest level since 2012), from 20 percent in April, according to data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

The unemployment rate was 21 .7 percent in May 2017.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May, 2018 was 19.5 percent.

The announcement released by ELSTAT is as follows:

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May 2018 was 19.5% compared to the upward revised 21.7% in May 2017 and the downward revised 20.0% in April 2018. The number of employed in May 2018 amounted to 3,824,393 persons. The number of unemployed amounted to 924,941 while the number of inactive to 3,230,269. The corresponding divs for May 2013 to 2018 are presented in Table 1.

The number of employed persons increased by 70,052 persons compared with May 2017 (a 1.9% rate of increase) and by 48,884 persons compared with April 2018 (a 1.3% rate of increase).

The number of unemployed persons decreased by 113,718 persons compared with May 2017 (a 10.9% rate of decrease) and by 18,029 persons compared with April 2018 (a 1.9% rate of decrease). ·

The number of inactive persons, i.e., persons that neither work nor look for a job, increased by 7,263 persons compared with May 2017 (a 0.2% rate of increase) and decreased by 34,293 persons compared with April 2018 (a 1.1% rate of decrease).