Monday, October 15, 2012
  • Budget Deficit Shrinks
Greece’s State Budget Deficit shrank to € 12.649 billion, while the primary deficit was € 1.998 billion, in the 2012 January-September period according to a budget execution provisional report released on October 11, by the Finance Ministry.

Both figures exceeded targets expectations for the period (€ 13.510 billion and €2.858 billion, respectively), a positive development for the overall Greek economy.

 Thus, the budget deficit was € 7.452 billion lower than the same period in 2011 (a decline of 37.1%), while the primary deficit fell by € 4.070 billion over the same period.
  • Unemployment Grows
Unemployment soared to 25.1% in July 2012 compared to 24.8% in the previous month and 17.8% in July 2011, according to data released on October 11, by the Hellenic Statistics Authority

The Labour Force survey report states that approximately 1,000 people lose their jobs on a daily basis, configuring the numbers of employed to 3,763,142, the number of unemployed to 1,261,604 and the number of inactive persons to 3,356,276.

Youth unemployment (aged 18-25) rates skyrocketed to 54.2% in July 2012, while female unemployment increased to 29% against male unemployment (22.3%) for the same month.
  • Industry Production Index Rises
The general Production Index in Industry (IPI) in Greece rose by an encouraging 2.5% in August 2012 against the same month in 2011.


In contrast ,the annual IPI rate of change in August 2011 was -10%, according to data published by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) on October 10.