Greek unemployment increases to 27 percent

Unemployment has reached a new record in Greece, with the jobless rate increasing to 27 percent in November 2012, compared to 20.8 percent in the same month the previous year.

The country's Statistics Agency said Thursday that unemployment increased from October, which stood at record 26.6 percent. The worst affected are young people, with unemployment at 61.7 percent in the 15-24 age group in November.

Greece is mired in the sixth year of a deep recession, and has been relying for nearly three years on international rescue loans to keep it afloat. In return for the bailout from the International Monetary Fund and other euro countries, the government has imposed deep spending cuts and tax hikes which have hammered the economy and forced thousands of businesses to close.