Unemployment continues to rise in recession-hit Greece, with the overall rate reaching 27.9 percent in June. Even worse, 58.8 percent of people under age 25 are out of work.

The Greek Statistical Authority said Thursday, Sept 12, that the jobless rate had risen from 24.6 percent the previous year. In June 2008 before the global financial crisis bared its teeth and Greece entered recession, the rate stood at 7.3 percent, The Associated Press reports.

The jobless total stood at just over 1.4 million. In addition, around 3.33 million people in Greece are considered inactive, just shy of the 3.63 million in work.

Years of emergency taxes, pay cuts, and other austerity measures implemented as a condition of international bailout loans have hammered Greece's private sector. The conservative-led government has promised to end the recession next year.

The number of jobless in Europe fell slightly in July and business optimism rose, according to official data, adding to the tentative signs that the region's economy is staging a modest comeback.

Europe's statistics office said the number of unemployed in the eurozone was down by 15,000 to 19.23 million, marking the second consecutive fall since April 2011. The jobless rate remained at a record of high of 12.1 percent.

EU youth unemployment in July remained high with a total of 5.56 million under 25 registered as unemployed, even though it dipped slightly from 23.5 to 23.4 percent on the month. For the Eurozone, it rose by 0.1 point to 24 percent for the eurozone.

According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia posted 16.9 percent unemployment rate in the Q1 2013, with 3.2 percent year-over-year drop reported.

23.3 percent jobless rate was recorded in Armenian cities, down from 28.8 percent in Q1 2012, with villages posting 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent last year.

Employment agencies reported about 68,400 jobseekers. The Service listed 1,359,600 economically active people in Q1 2013, with the number dropping 4.5 percent against last year.