Anti-austerity protesters stand outside the Greek parliament building in Athens. (File photo)
Sat Jun 8, 2013 4:22PM GMT
5
2
The
announcement comes days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
admitted it had made serious mistakes in preparing Greece’s first rescue
package which led to a second larger bailout."
The Greek economy has contracted by 5.6 percent in the first quarter of 2013 in comparison with the first three months of 2012.
The figure was released by the Greek statistics service, Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), on Friday.
The statistical agency said it had revised data from May 15, showing a 5.3-percent contraction.
The Greek economy showed a 5.7-percent slump in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The announcement comes days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) admitted it had made serious mistakes in preparing Greece’s first rescue package which led to a second larger bailout.
Reports say Greece has an unemployment rate of 26.8 percent.
The country has blamed tough austerity measures forced by the European Union and the IMF in return for a bailout to prevent it from going bankrupt.
Greece was granted a 110-billion-euro (145-billion-dollar) bailout by the so-called troika of IMF, European Commission (EC), and the European Central Bank (ECB) in May 2010.
Another 130-billion-euro (170-billion-dollar) rescue package was approved in February 2012.
Greece has been at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its sixth year of recession, while harsh austerity measures have left tens of thousands of people without jobs.
SZH/SS
