Greek unemployment rises above 25 percent
By Associated Press
Oct 11, 2012 4:33 AM CDT
Greek gas station owners stage a protest against planned fuel hikes by the government in central Athens, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012. Unions and professional groups have stepped up protests against new government austerity measures set to lead Greece into a sixth year of recession in 2013. Unions have...   (Associated Press)

The unemployment rate in Greece rose to 25.1 percent in July, from 24.8 percent the month before, as the financial crisis continued to destroy jobs.

Greece's statistical authority says in a statement Thursday that 1.26 million Greeks were jobless in July, with more than 1,000 jobs lost every day over the past year.

In the worst-affected 15-24 age group, unemployment was 54.2 percent.

In July 2008, a year before Greece's acute financial crisis broke, there were only about 364,000 registered unemployed.

Greece is surviving on international bailout loans, granted on condition of harsh austerity measures to curtail the country's large budget deficits. The economy is set to enter a sixth year of recession in 2013.