Greece's unemployment rate scaled a new record of 27 percent in February, data showed on Thursday (May 9), reflecting the depth of the country's recession after years of austerity imposed under its international bailout.

The jobless rate has almost tripled since the country's debt crisis emerged in 2009, and was more than twice the euro zone's average unemployment reading of 12.1 percent in March. The latest figure rose from a downwardly revised 26.7 percent in January, the country's Statistics Service (ELSTAT) said. It was the highest reading since the statistics service began publishing jobless data in 2006.

The high jobless rate is keeping Greeks pessimistic about their economic prospects.

But it was not only the overall unemployment rate that rose to a new high, the joblessness among those aged between 15 and 24 hit an all-time record of 64.2 percent in February from 59.3 percent in January.

Greece's economy is in its sixth year of recession, battered by tax hikes and spending cuts demanded by its European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders. The economy is expected to slump by 4.2 to 4.5 percent this year.

Presented by Adam Justice