ECONOMY

Record dismissals seen in July

Record dismissals seen in July

Capital controls have been blamed for a new 15-year high in dismissals for July of this year. According to the Labor Ministry’s Ergani database, dismissals surpassed new hires by 16,658 last month. A climate of insecurity has also changed the nature of work.

According to the ministry, out of 143,972 new hires in July, only 16.1 percent or 23,127 were for full-time positions. The majority (47.3 percent or 67,714 positions) were on rotating contracts, with the remaining 53,131 (36.9 percent) being part-time. The shift is expected to have a dramatic impact on revenues for pension funds.

The reduction in new jobs during the summer period, which in Greece normally go up due to the increase in tourism, show that 29,933 positions were lost within one year. In July 2014, full-time employment stood at 48.22 percent, three times this year’s figure.

Dismissals outnumbered new hires by 16,658, totaling 160,630 compared to 143,972 for July 2014. The figures stand in contrast to the previous five months when hires outnumbered dismissals. In February, new hires reached 15,124 while in March the figure was 22,313. The figures for April were even better due to Easter and the spring tourism season, with the balance in new positions at 80,223 in April and 86,146 for May. In June, 8,590 new hires were shown.

An indication of how businesses reacted to the capital controls is that between July 1 and 3 alone 16,973 positions were lost. The largest number of dismissals occurred in the 30-44 age group, with a reduction of 17,478 positions over the month. In contrast, the 15-24 age group showed a positive balance of 12,931 positions in July as businesses chose younger and cheaper employees. The majority of positions were lost in the Attica region.

The education sector showed the most dismissals (21,225). The catering sector had a positive balance of 9,326 positions, lower than last year’s figure of 15,958. A positive balance of 6,855 positions was also seen in the accommodation sector, down from last year’s 9,247, and in the food production industry (5,530 positions this year versus 6,503 last year).

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