Shocking ECB data shows Greek unemployment at near a third of workforce

It is in fact "hidden" unemployment, which is not reflected in the data of the Hellenic Statistical Authority and concerns not only the typical unemployed, but an expanded set of people including both those looking for work and those who are disappointed not actively looking for work.

In addition, part-time workers who would like to be full-time but have not been able to do so are also included in the unemployment mix that the ECB calculates.

In a response given by ECB President Marios Draghi to MEP N. Houndis, it is pointed out that the under-utilization of Greece's workforce reached 31.3% in the fourth quarter of 2016, ie almost eight points worse compared to the official unemployment rate, which at that time had reached 23.4%.

The measurement of the European Central Bank includes the following categories:

The typical unemployed
Those who are part-time but would like to have full time
Those who want to work but have quit the job search actively
"Silent" unemployed people who are looking for a job but are not registered because they are not ready to take up tasks within two weeks, as is usually required by statistics.

According to the ECB, the problem of under-exploitation occurs across the eurozone. While at the end of last year Eurostat was accounting for unemployment close to 9.5%, ECB data show that the real "hole" was up to 18.5%.