ATHENS: Greece’s jobless rate fell to 12.2% in March from a downwardly revised 12.7% in the previous month, data from statistics service ELSTAT showed on Wednesday.

Seasonally adjusted data showed 582,001 people were officially unemployed, with those under the age of 24 years the hardest hit.

The jobless rate for young people aged 15 to 24 years dropped to 26.4% in March from 40.7% in the same month in 2021.

After hitting a record high of 27.8% in September 2013, Greece’s jobless rate has been falling but it remains the highest in the euro zone.

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Joblessness affected women more than men, with the respective rates in March at 15.8% and 9.2%.

Greece’s economic rebound from the pandemic slowed in last year’s fourth quarter but in 2021 as a whole the economy grew 8.3% after a sharp downturn in 2020.

The government sees the unemployment rate at 13.9% this year, down form 14.7% in 2021.