Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ hopes of putting the floundering Greek economy on the road to recovery took another hit with the release of figures showing that the country’s unemployment rate hit another record high and was at 25.1 percent in July.

The jobless rate rose from 24.8 percent a month earlier, according to the country’s statistics service ELSTAT. Nearly two million people in Greece are without work, including those whose year-long benefits have run out.

Austerity measures imposed in the last 2-1/2 years on the orders of international lenders have largely backfired and worsened the plight of many Greeks, closed 68,000 businesses and is shrinking the economy by 7 percents.

Coca Cola Hellenic, the world΄s second-largest bottler of Coca-Cola Co. soft drinks and Greece΄s biggest firm by market value, said on Thursday it would switch its main bourse listing to London, where it hopes to tap more liquidity from investors.

Rise in Value Added Tax to 23 percent that included restaurants in a bid to raise revenues has backfired as a report showed it has led to the closing of 4,000 establishments and the loss of 30,000 jobs.

Kostis Mousouroulis told some 70 representatives of the Greek shipping industry that envoys of the country’s international lenders wanted 23 islands with fewer than 150 inhabitants to be evacuated permanently to reduce the cost of sending ships there. The government, has, however produce a list of small, uninhabited islands it wants to lease or sell to raise revenues.