Athens, Apr 12 (IANS/RIA Novosti): "The level of unemployment in Greece hit a record 27.2 percent in January, up 5.7 percentage points year on year, the Greek national statistics service Elstat said Thursday.

The soaring unemployment comes amid austerity measures that the Greek government introduced in exchange for financial aid from international lenders.

The country has entered its sixth consecutive year of economic recession.

Average unemployment in the eurozone is about 12 percent, while the EU average is 10.9 percent, according to Eurostat's February figures.

Greece's jobless rate soared by 1.5 percentage points in one month from last December, with about 95,000 people losing their jobs in the reported period.

The country currently has more than 1.3 million unemployed, of whom some 281,000 lost their jobs between January 2012 and January 2013.

Young people are the most vulnerable social group, with about 59.3 percent of people aged between 15 and 24 currently unable to find a job. Among those aged between 25 and 34, about 34.2 percent are unemployed.