Greek unemployment rate eased to 23.2 pct of the workforce in July, from 23.4 pct in June and 24.8 pct in July last year, Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Thursday.
 The statistics service, in a monthly report, said that the number of unemployed people totaled 1,120,843 in July and noted that despite a persisting very high unemployment rate among young people, unemployment continued rising in the 55-64 age group as companies dismissed older workers and replaced them with younger ones with lower wages.
 The number of unemployed people fell by 76,727 in July compared with the same month last year, a decline of 6.4 pct and by 5,395 compared with June 206, a decline of 0.5 pct. The number of employed people totaled 3,703,828, up 80,663 compared with July 2015 (an increase of 2.2 pct) and up by 14,617 compared with June 2016 (an increase of 0.4 pct).
 The economically non active part of the population totaled 3,220,780, down 1.3 pct from July 2015 and down 0.4 pct from June 2016. The unemployment rate among women was 27.9 pct in July from 28.8 pct in 2015, while among men it was 19.4 pct from 21.7 pct, respectively.
 The unemployment rate among young people, aged 15-24 was 42.7 pct in July from 48.6 pct in July 2015, in the 25-34 age group it fell to 29.5 pct from 31.6 pct, in the 35-44 age group it eased to 20.1 pct from 22.1 pct, in the 45-54 age group it fell to 19.1 pct from 19.9 pct, in the 55-64 age group it rose to 18.6 pct from 17 pct and in the 65-74 age group it fell to 12 pct from 13.2 pct.