Greeks get gloomier
Greeks’ view of their own and the country’s economic situation and employment in 2005 took a turn for the worse after last summer, according to the latest six-monthly Eurobarometer survey, presented by the European Commission yesterday. The percentage of those foreseeing a deterioration in their living standards increased from 13 percent in the spring 2004 survey to 22 percent in the autumn survey, while those expecting an improvement fell from 42 percent to 37 percent. The last survey shows an unmistakably sharp change of mood regarding the country’s economic prospects within six months. The upbeat mood shown in the spring 2004 report, portraying Greeks as the most optimistic among European citizens in that respect, gave way to one of the most pessimistic outlooks. The percentage of respondents anticipating an uplift dropped spectacularly from 34 percent last spring to 14 percent in the autumn, while there was also a drastic fall in the percentage of those expecting an improvement in the employment situation from 30 percent to 12 percent. Just under half (49 percent) of Greeks expected no economic improvement in their households in 2005, and 57 percent said they foresaw no advancement in their personal professional careers – against a 60 percent European average. The Eurobarometer survey consisted of approximately 1,000 face-to-face interviews, conducted between October 8 and November 8, 2004. Construction blues The presentation of the survey coincided with a warning by the Institute of Construction Economy (IOK), which called for urgent action to prevent the current slowdown in activity and employment in the sector from developing into a crisis. In its «Structure and Future Tapping of Human Resources» study, IOK identified a number of causes for the unfavorable prospects in construction, notably the sudden sharp decrease in the number of publicly financed projects (after 10 years of continuous increase) on which the big construction groups highly depended for turnover; the minimal presence of Greek firms in foreign markets; the delay in introducing a legal framework for privately financed and operated projects and the lackluster development of the real estate market. IOK says the only way to avoid a wave of layoffs and bankruptcies is for firms to reorient their activities and become more active in private construction. An initial indication of such an unfavorable trend in the medium term is – according to reports by the 25 listed construction firms – the 13 percent fall in employment in the September 2003 – September 2004 period. The report says that the fall is likely to have been much higher, as firms would tend to under-report losses for public relations reasons. It estimates that if the fall has affected the entire construction sector to the same degree (large and small companies alike), the total loss of jobs was about 44,500 just in 2004. Those who will be hardest hit by the layoffs will be the laborers with the lowest education, who would also face the greatest difficulties in finding employment in other sectors. Engineers are expected to suffer the least. According to IOK, the share of public spending in the total turnover of the construction sector shot up from 34.2 percent in 1997 to 47.3 percent in 2004, compared to a minimal increase in private spending which mainly goes to small companies.
