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Unemployment Explodes with 16.6% – 822K Greeks Without Job
Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy, Society
The dramatic situation in the labour market is now been confirmed statistically. Unemployment hit a new historic record in May reaching 16.6 percent. According to Greek Statistics Authority (ELSTAT), the number of inactive Greeks (4,388,000) exceeds that of active/employed Greeks (4,131,528).
In comparison, unemployment was 12.0% in May 2010 and 15.8% in April 2011. The number of unemployed is officially 822,719 people. Excluded from this official numbers are not-registered jobless and those self-employed who have closed down their enterprises.
In May, the number of employed decreased by 299,798 persons.
Taking into consideration the statistics, during the month of May, 1,450 people were laid off daily.
The 16.6% rate comes a bit surprisingly as traditionally the tourism sector starts hiring personel already in April.
Jobless in Greece receive an unemloyment allowance of 465 euro/month for one year for the whole lenght of their professional life.
I am really fed up to hear “We need development measures” every time the unemployment rates are out. “Development” I hear, and “development” I don’t see. I wish, I would have stayed in Urania’s farm in Petra…
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I’m starting to really like your site. Very up-to-date info and in English that we can understand unlike those “frontistirio” English blogs.
So, one question I never hear anyone address is this. In most places I eat at, get my car washed, etc, I see the majority are foreign workers? So, I asked and was told that foreign workers will accept lower wages than Greeks etc. So, my question is this; are these 822K Greek people out of work doing just fine? Why don’t they work at the gas stations, pick lettuce, clean toilets, houses, etc, since having a job is better than not having a job? I am confused??
In the USA, we see the same phenomenon, but the difference is that in the states, I don’t think we’re quite that bad yet, so we can still snub our noses at those jobs, but with Greeks I really wonder when they will start to accept those low-level, low-paying manual labor jobs. When I start seeing Greeks washing my car, cleaning my window at a traffic light, cleaning my house etc, then I’ll truly believe the crisis has hit. Apparently, in the 1950s, when my grandfather was here, Greeks did these types of jobs until they were able to emigrate to the USA, etc.
One other point… I’ve been told by a gas-station owner that the foreign workers work harder, less complaining, grousing etc, and less smoke/coffee breaks and they are a much better labor decision for the owners.
Can anyone verify this? I’m very curious…
thank you for the compliments.
Immigrant workers have no labour rights whatsoever, work for dump prices for the majority of them pays no insurance and taxes. They see it as a chance to get some money and return home or move to another country. No national can do this for obvious reasons. Apart from the fact that employes do not employ Greeks under such conditions. They’re afraid the employees will file compalints. hardly a foreigner would do that…
by the way: what is ‘frontistirio’ English?
“frontisrio” English is that horrible brand of English where people say “HELLOOO MEEESTER, Do you lika the Greece”.. In other words, bad pronounciation, sometimes proper grammar but out of context. Many ex-pats call it that. Probably mostly unknown to Greeks…
Many of the Greek people I’ve spoken with in English, who’ve learned from frontistirio seem to have less English skills than the Greeks who’ve lived abroad. Not trying to be offensive, but when I read a blog, I’d like to have either a native speaker write it or someone with international experience. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect either with English and I’m a native speaker, but I’m not a journalist either…
So, your command of the English language keeps me interested…
so in essence what KTG says from an employers point of view having someone working for you who you can treat subhuman is ideal. I use to work in cnstruction in Greece since i couldnt find work in my field and i can tell from first hand experience that i was treated differently from the immigrants who were doing similar work it had nothing to do with breaks or working harder. It was a case that i was Greek so i was in a position to potentially make their life difficult whereas a guy new to the country would be more obedient and subservient especially if he was illegal. by the way i should also add that i had to accept the work without insurance contributions or anything else taken as worker rights. and im sure that now with the unemployment this high there are plenty of employers blackmailing their workforce to work without social contributions or they will be fired, telling them there are plenty more workers out the who will work cheaper. so when you see someone foreign doing a menial task dont think greeks dont do it. just feel sorry for the guy cos he is being used to a degree that in a civilised country would be considered slavery.
keep up the good work KTG
Ok, thanks Vassilis for the clarity. But, a follow-up question is this. If I was out of a job and hungry and had to feed a family, I’d do whatever job under whatever conditions to keep my family safe. So, when I read 25% increase in homelessness in Greece, it makes me ask again wouldn’t it be better to be under those terrible working conditions instead of being homeless? In the USA, we have the mindset (at least I do and people I know) that I’d do any job no matter how low it is to keep my family fed. But, my neighbor (a Greek) tell me that many Greeks only want to be managers and in “opa opa” and are too “good” to do low level jobs like that.
Is that the culture to snub your nose even in dire circumstances?
Anyways, thanks for the good feedback, I think dialog is great!
I am afraid you’re missing the point: jobless over 38/40? you simply don’t get a job! It is a mindset of employers here. I know very many people with university degree and work experience, willing to work even for 500 euro in a restaurant kitchen. They get nothing. I’ve never been to USA but my impression is that there is a reason, we call it ‘the land of opportunities’.
It’s like in Calabria.
Just move to Greece and play the “illegal alien” – makes a good book! Try it with strawberries: 12 hrs for 25-32 €. It only will work if you can sleep in the green house or a paperbox and pay tribute to your lord the employer therefore that you can use his water for a shower (one per week because water is for fruits) and feed yourself out of the trash.
Greece is in a very sick state at the moment it all started when Greece became a Republic.
I use to live in Australia up until 2006 where I moved to Greece. I have many years experience as a Travel Consultant, as a Waiter and as a Retail Sales Person.
In Australia everything is well organized and it is possible to have two jobs or even three jobs.
I worked from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday as a Travel Consultant, from 6pm to 11pm or midnight Friday to Sunday as a Waiter and from 9am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday as Retail Sales Person in a Hardware Store selling paint and plumbing supplies.
I still had time to study from Monday to Thursday from 6pm to 9pm , or go to the Cinema or go and play a game of pool with friends or go to beach or have a picnic every 2nd or 3rd weekend. As long as I informed my casual job employer 10 days in advance that I would to have a day off.
The basic wage is from $13.00 to $17.00 per hour working between the hours of 7am to 7pm, $19.00 to $23.00 per hour working from 7pm to 7am and $25.00 to $33.00 per hour working on Sunday and public holidays.
I was both a Fulltime employee and a casual employee, in Australia you can either work Fulltime, Part-time or Casual.
I was getting all my entitlements that is my pension fund and I paid all my taxes.
In Australia the employer pays 9% of what you have earned into your pension fund and everyone pays tax on every pay check. This ranges from 20% to 45% depending on how much you earn but then you do your tax declaration at the end of the financial year and you could possibly get a Tax return which people look at as a kind of savings account.
If employers can afford to do this in Australia and still make a profit why is it not so in Greece?
In Australia everyone gets government Medical care which is budgeted, but it is up to the individual if they want to in addition have better and private medical insurance and pay extra, which you can get a part of it tax deductible.
If Australia can manage its nation and keep its people happy and healthy I do not see why it cannot be done everywhere else and especially in Greece.
When I moved to Greece my first job was as a Waiter getting 4,00€ to 5,00€ per hour or 700,00 to 800,00 Euro per month. The owner of the business did not pay my IKA in full and I was getting demoralized.
I worked from 11am to 3pm or 4pm then a 2 to 3 hour break and then return to do the dinner shift from 5pm or 6pm to midnight or even to 1am or 2am the next day. I only got a 30 minute if that dinner break. And our tips which were plundered by the manager or owner to buy his cigarettes or play his football bets. My whole day gone on what? Just to make the owner of the business richer so he can buy his new model Mercedes or BMW and continue building his Villa in his village or by the sea side.
The system is so disorganized and nobody is getting anywhere and become demoralized except for the business owners, dimosi ipalili and politicians.
The business owners like to make huge profits, with very little outlaying costs.
Well when a Cappucino in Greece is 5,00€ and a Frappe 3,00€ to 4,00€ and it only costs 0.20 cents to make what do you expect.
For one year I also worked in one of the big Supermarket chains I was getting 780,00€ per month the profit margins were minimum 300% to mostly 500% upto 1000%.
What they could not afford to pay us properly in line with the Western nations of Europe or Australia?
Products are twice of even 3 or 5 times the retail price of what they are in Germany or France.
Milk 1 litre is 1,50 to 2,00 or more in Greece in Germany and in France it is minimum 0,54 cents.
Eggs are 0,50 cents or more in Greece in Germany and France they are from 0,18 cents per egg.
We have toilet paper a well known brand selling in the Supermarkets in Greece at 8,35€ per packet of 10 rolls. What is it made of? For goodness sake.
Yes you can complain or go on strike but as a private employee you will be fired. Yes there is a place to lodge your complaint at the Epitheorasi Ergasias, but it will take forever to be processed, because the public servant wants to have another cigarette break or finish their Frappe or reading their Newspaper or they can not be bothered to as it it too much to do or they will be bribed by the business owner.
This shows that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
The business owners do not give a care of the people and they want as much as they can get even from the poor people. How long can this go on? What when the people stop buying what will happen to their businesses then! And the landlords are another lot of greedy persons who do not lower their rents they just keep increasing them every 6 to 12 months.
The Government in Greece needs a total restructuring, firstly to put in place a good Industrial Relations laws that protects the employees and their rights. They need to put in place a minimum hourly wage for every profession.
No not monthly because they start abusing it making the workers work an extra hour here and there with no extra pay. “No”. “You Use, You Pay”.
Years ago I filled in time between jobs with jobs at one of the commercial jog agencies. It was not that I could not get unemployment benefit, but I just wanted to keep in the running. So I did all kind of jobs. Some right up my level. But several times work like filling envelopes for a mailing or cleaning OR-equipment in hospitals.
One of them, Randstad, has a subsidiary here in Greece I saw. Does anyone know if people are using these and how widespread that is?
At the moment in Greece people are finding very difficult to make ends meet especially if you are an employee.
When I was applying for a job as a Travel Consultant they wanted to pay me only on commission, so I can man their office so it looks good and get nothing to not much in the end. No thanks.
Greece needs a revolution to put things right, it is the people that make the country not the 300 politicians or the 850,000 dimosi ipalili.
Greece is the only nation in the world that has the highest amount of public servants employed per capita. It has about the same population as Sweden or Austria who only have 40,000 to 60,000 public servants.
And it is not right how these 300 Government ministers sit in Parliament and all they do is talk and talk and nothing else no action no works nothing.
Why don’t they give a good example and give up on one month of their wages or give up on their benefits such as travel allowances and meal allowances.
Why don’t they wear the shoes of the average worker in the private sector to understand their feelings and pain and work beside them to feel their frustrations and anxiety.
Greece is demoralized because of corruption.
Greece should do away with laws that protect politicians from being prosecuted, and forget the phrase “Do You Know Who I Am”. No one should have Diplomatic Immunity, we are humans and we all should be treated equally and justly regardless of our status or background.
Inspectors need to be undercover working as employees to weed out the crooked and bad employers.
Police need to be better paid so they can feel good about doing their job, they are the only public servants that are lowly paid.
There has to be a clean sweep of the whole of Greece ever since Greece became a Republic it has had nothing but problems from the corruption of politicians and their friends and business partners.
All the current political parties are corrupt, yes even KKE’s Papariga still drives her limo and has a nice expensive house. And a good income I bet too.
It is easy to talk, there is an Old Greek saying “Ta Logia ine athia, horis na thiksis erga kai apotelesmata”
We need another Pericles a Greece of the 400’s BC a leader who is chosen by the people not on colours blue, green, red, yellow or any thing else, but a leader who knows that they were voted because they have to work for the good of the people and the nation and not for their own pockets and pension.
amerikanaki what makes you think that some greeks dont do those jobs under terrible conditions. 16% is the official unemployment. people who closed thei shops and businesses arent counted. around 120000 businesses closed tha is potentially 120000 owners out of a job that dont show in statistics. some unemployed arent allowed benefits at all cos they are unemployed over a year so altough they are still classed unemloyed they work in those conditions already mentioned but obviously they arent in the books anywhere similar to ilegal immigrants. they work to pay for their families, but what makes you think that a job like that guarantees you a house? it might be able to put enough food on the street for you and your family but definately not enough for the ever rising prices of utilities rents and so on. between shelter and food. food takes precedence. in america you have food stamps and from what i read there are around 2 million food stam users does that mean they dont want to work or does it mean they cant? i wont disagree with your neighbour cos greeks use to be like that in the good years. they cant be like that now they cant afford to. however employers still believe in that maxim, and therefore for menial tasks they will prefer immigrants or if they choose greeks it will be greeks who have no family who can back them up if the boss doesnt want to pay them or decides to beat them up for minor infractions. when i said slavery i meant it some of those immigrants are no better than slaves. i will let yo look for an article about the fruit pickers in farms in the pelloponese there was an article a few months ago about their working conditions, nothing happened, no police investigation that i heard about no comment form local goverment and MPs nothing. that is the Greece that a lot of greeks are trying to survive in. if i could give any advise to any foreigner thinking of moving to live in Greece is “stay away, noone will car wht happens to you”. i cant comment more ive been away from the country too long now, i keep in contact with my family to make sure they are ok but KTG sees it everyday, in her street, with her friends and neighbours. politicians everywhere will lie or worse wont even know how things are. i apologise for my long comment.