Greek depression deepens with economy shrinking 7.2% in Q3
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Buy SPH photosATHENS (REUTERS) - Greece's economic slump deepened in the third quarter, with output shrinking 7.2 per cent on an annual basis as the debt-racked country heads into its sixth year of depression.
The contraction was deeper than the second quarter's 6.3-per-cent drop and follows the passage of a tough 2013 budget by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's government that is expected to continue to smother growth for most of next year.
Since 2009, the Mediterranean state's economic decline - which Mr Samaras has dubbed Greece's "Great Depression" - has wiped a fifth off economic output and put one in four Greeks out of work.
Analysts said the reading could point to an even grimmer outlook because it was offset by better-than-expected returns from the country's vital tourism sector.
