Gone are the times when labor craft would get a full time job with a wage that would allow a descent living. The data published by the Greek Labor Ministry are grim.
Not only 24,674 jobs were lost in the private sector in November. The data reflect also the absolute dominance of “flexible forms of employment” when new jobs are being created.
Six out of ten jobs created in November were “flexible work forms”, that is part-time jobs for two, three or four hours per day or even week.
Specifically 56.02% of the new jobs were for part-time and job rotation.
Only 43.98% of jobs were full time.
This grim option run also through the whole periods of time January – November 2015:
55.36% were part-time jobs and jobs rotation
Only 44.64% were full time.
From January to November 2015, 1.6 million new jobs were created but also 1.5 million jobs were lost.
The majority of lost jobs were due to end of time-contracts, voluntarily departure (probably due to not payment of salaries).
I am not sure whether the data refers to real new jobs as the Labor Ministry speaks of 1,667,024 “announcements of Job Vacancies”.
The number of job losses for the same period of time totaled 1,575,150.
923,394 jobs ended due to ending of job contract, 65,756 due to voluntary departures.
But what I know for sure is that that the wages are far below a skilled worker can anticipate for. Just in the last two weeks, I heard of long time unemployed who managed to get new jobs – part time of, course, without insurance:
One got a job for 150 euro per month.
Another one got a temporary contract for maximum 10 days, for 20 EUR per day, full time work of 8 hours daily.
A third one got a part-time contract 280 EUR gross per month.
One might even say that “yes, there are jobs for the people,” only that there is no money to pay the labor.
Especially, young people are the most preferred object of desire by employers as they from the large pool of cheap labor and can easily become the subject of exploitation as many of the young labor craft still lives in parents’ home. One just only have to think that 1:2 Greek youth is without a job.
In older generations, especially those over 40-45 things are even more difficult and depressing. Getting even a part-time job is a rarity. I know people who manage to “survive” (?) by working with one month contract here, another contract after 3 months of unemployment. Of course, they don’t survive but they survive their struggle against depression and despair.
Ah, yes, we have the charities and the soup kitchens and the second-hand donated clothes. But these kind donations do not help people to pay their rent, their electricity, water and heating bills or even buy detergents and toilet paper.
What Greeks need is creation of descent jobs. Yesterday. We are in the 6th year of the crisis.
