Greek unemployment soars to 23.1 percent

(AP) ATHENS, Greece - Greece's statistical agency says unemployment in the crisis-struck country has risen to a startling 23.1 percent in May - up from 16.8 percent a year earlier.

An agency statement Thursday said the worst affected group is young people under 25, where 54.9 percent are out of work.

A total 1.15 million people were unemployed in May 2012, compared to 1.1 million in April, or 22.6 percent of the workforce. In May 2009, months before Greece's crisis broke, unemployment was just 9.1 percent.

Greece has avoided going bankrupt by international rescue loans. In return, Athens imposed harsh austerity measures to limit runaway government overspending and improve chronically weak tax revenues.

The coalition government is now striving to identify 11.5 billion euro worth of cuts for 2013-14.