Bank of Greece issues gloomier outlook
Bank of Greece predicts 4.6 percent economic contraction in 2013, worse than other forecasts
An elderly man looks in his wallet during a protest organized by a pro-communist union PAME, in Athens, Thursday, May 23, 2013. About 10,000 people joined a peaceful protest march in central Athens to demand the renewal of collective labor agreements that expire this year. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's central bank says the economy is likely to contract by a further 4.6 percent in 2013 with unemployment set to reach 28 percent.
The Bank of Greece's estimate, issued in a report published Wednesday, is worse than the 4.2 percent contraction predicted by the government and the country's rescue lenders.
The economy shrank 6.4 percent in 2012.
Greece has been in recession since late 2008 and unemployment has risen to 27 percent as of February. Some 64.2 percent of people under the age of 25 are out of work.
The conservative-led government has promised an end to recession and a return to state borrowing on bond markets next year.
