Greece's unemployment rate hits 25%

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

A petrol bomb thrown by protesters explodes near riot police in front of the parliament during clashes in Athens on Wednesday Nov. 7, 2012. Greece's fragile coalition government faces its toughest test so far when lawmakers vote later Wednesday on new painful austerity measures demanded to keep the country afloat, on the second day of a nationwide general strike.(AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

Greece's statistics agency says unemployment rose to 25.4 per cent in August, increasing from 24.8 per cent in July as the country struggles through a deep recession.

The numbers mark a significant leap from the 18.4 per cent jobless rate in the same month last year. More than 1.2 million people in this country of barely 10 million are now unemployed, the statistics agency said today.

More than half, 58 per cent, of all young people aged 15-24 are unemployed, the figures showed.

The numbers were released a day after Greece's parliament narrowly passed a deeply unpopular austerity bill that will further cut salaries and pensions.

The approval of the measures was a key step for Greece to be given the next instalment of its vital bailout loans.