Greek economy shrinks more than estimated in third quarter

The Greek economy shrank more than initially estimated in the third quarter, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Thursday.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of debt-ridden Greece contracted 1.3 percent in June-September period, against the initial estimate of 1.1 percent fall. In the second quarter, GDP fell 1.7 percent.

Also, GDP of Greece declined sharply by 4.6 percent in the third quarter compared with the same quarter last year. The Greek economy has been in continuous decline since the third quarter of 2008.

Gross fixed capital formation decreased by 20 percent in the third quarter compared with the third quarter of 2009. Total final consumption expenditure dropped 5.5 percent.

However, positive contribution to GDP came from external trade deficit which was down 42.2 percent in the third quarter.

Separately, the official data showed that unemployment rate in Greece rose to12.9 percent in September compared with 9.1 percent in the same quarter a year earlier.

Officials and analysts attribute the contraction in Greek economy to falling investments and decline in household consumption due to the government’s austerity measures to combat severe debt crisis faced by the country.