The Greek economy has been assessed as still being shaky.

Protests on the streets about the state of Greece’s finances have underlined the country’s struggle against recession.

The debt-laden Greek economy shrank 1.8% in the second quarter as households slashed spending, in a much worse contraction than had been feared.

Greece’s national statistics office said that private consumption dropped 4.2% year-on-year, against a rise of 1.5% in the previous quarter.

Radical austerity measures, put in place by the Greek government, European Union and International Monetary Fund, have prevented the stimulation of economic growth.

Economists have said Greek finances are likely to be firmly in negative territory in the second half, given tight domestic credit conditions and the government’s austerity program.