Salaries drop despite increase in jobs
The average salary level in Greece fell 1.23 percent over the space of a year, despite the increase in full-time employment, according to Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) data for 2018, a fact which generates concerns about the course of the labor market.
The statistics derive from the employment declarations of employers (APD) to EFKA and offer a snapshot of the market and private sector salaries: They show that almost one in every three workers (29.88 percent) is employed part-time and collects a gross salary of just 391.32 euros per month.
This illustrates that in spite of the increase in employment and the even greater rise in the number of people insured, last year saw a slight reduction in salaries which proved that any investments implemented concerned jobs of lower quality.
EFKA figures revealed that more than three in every five private sector workers (60.9 percent) received no more than 1,000 euros gross every month last year, and just 21.4 percent of workers received between 1,001 and 1,500 euros gross.
APD data processing points to 5.13 percent growth in the number of people insured at EFKA from December 2017 to December 2018, while that of those insured in construction projects expanded by 5.64 percent. Full-time private sector employees climbed 7.38 percent year-on-year, while declared part-timers rose 1.37 percent. The average salary at enterprises fell 0.25 percent and in construction specifically it was down 0.53 percent.
In businesses with full-time employees the average salary dropped 1.23 percent to 1,160.91 euros per month gross, while the average daily wage came to 50.27 euros. Those in declared part-time employment were paid an average of 391.32 euros per month or 23.66 euros per day.
Salary workers with a full-time job numbered 1.53 million in 2018, accounting for 70.12 percent of workers, while part-timers stood at 655,000 last year. The average salary for women was 80.52 percent of that for men, while male senior corporate officials had an average salary of 4,403 euros per month against their female peers’ 2,786 euros, showing that gender equality has yet to be achieved.
