Employment and unemployment trends in 2006

Information on employment and unemployment trends in Greece for 2006 has emerged from data processed in the context of the Labour Force Survey conducted by the National Statistical Service of Greece. Overall, paid employment increased and unemployment decreased to its lowest level in 14 years in 2006. It appears that the increase in paid employment is mainly due to recruitment in the public sector and private sector companies employing more than 10 people.

Positive trends

In 2006, according to data of the second quarter derived from the Labour Force Survey by the National Statistical Service of Greece (ESYE), the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 14 years, totalling 8.8% of the labour force, and the number of those unemployed stood at over 427,000 people. The total labour force (both employed and unemployed) amounted to 4,880,000 people, which was representative of 68.2% of the working-age population, that is, those in the 15–64 year old age bracket. The employed population, accounting for almost 4,453,000 people, represented 62.3% of the working-age population.

Compared with 2005, the rates of change in the above population categories are as follows: the labour force increased by 0.65%, employment increased by 1.6%, and the number of unemployed people decreased by 8.4%.

ESYE data show that 63.7% of employed people are in paid employment, 21.6% are self-employed and a further 8.2% of self-employed people are also employers. The remaining 6.5% of employed people work as assisting and unpaid family members. About 1,005,000 people are employed in the public sector, around 22.6% of employed people. When considering the category of people in paid employment, this percentage increases to 35.5%.

Employees in micro enterprises, which employ fewer than 10 people, make up three fifths, or 62.4%, of total employment. Compared with 2005, all categories of employed people show an increase, with the exception of self-employed people. The most significant increase in employed people was recorded in the category of those in paid employment. Over half of the increase in employment in Greece occurred in the public sector (55.6%); and the increased number of paid employees in companies employing more than 10 people was directly responsible for the increase in paid employment.

Unemployment

The number of people who have recently become unemployed amounts to 156,800 persons, effectively 36.7% of all unemployed people. Some 57.5% (245,860 individuals) of all unemployed people are long-term unemployed, and 63.3% (270,600 people) of all unemployed people have worked in the past. In all, 44.6% of all unemployed people (190,800 persons) are younger than 29 years of age. The unemployment rate among young people is currently at its lowest level since 1993. The same is true for the overall unemployment rate.

In comparison with 2005, the number of unemployed people decreased across all the abovementioned categories. More specifically, the decrease in the number of newly unemployed persons accounts for over half, or 55%, of the total decrease in the number of unemployed people. The decrease in the number of unemployed people who have worked in the past accounts for 45% of the total decrease in unemployment. The number of long-term unemployed people accounts for 40% of the total decrease in the unemployment rate. Finally, the number of unemployed people younger than 29 years of age accounts for over one third of the total decline in unemployment.

Labour force participation of women

Overall, women show higher participation rates than men in paid employment and in services. However, the proportion of women is lower than that of men in the category of unemployed people who have worked in the past, while it is higher in all other categories of unemployed people. In fact, the unemployment rate for women remains over double the rate of men, with 13.4% of women being unemployed compared with 5.6% of men. Women make up about 60% of the total number of unemployed people. This is also true for the categories of unemployed young people under the age of 29 years and for unemployed people who have worked in the past. Almost two thirds of individuals who are long-term and newly unemployed are women.

Women have had a significant share in the changes that have occurred between 2005 and 2006. As far as both employment and unemployment are concerned, seven out of 10 people for whom employment increased and eight out of 10 for whom unemployment decreased were women; these figures represent 72% and 85% of women, respectively. In addition, the decrease in unemployed young people under the age of 29 years was due exclusively to a decrease in unemployment among women. The decline in the number of women in the categories of long-term and newly unemployed people was greater than the total decrease in the two previously-mentioned categories.

Part-time employment

At present, about 261,200 people are employed on a part time basis, 69% of whom are women. The rate of part-time employment increased from 4.8% in 2005 to 5.9% in 2006; when looking at the gender distribution, 10.4% of women work part time while only 3% of men do so. In 2006, 50,200 more people were in part-time employment than in 2005; more than half of this number (54%) were women. This effectively means that seven out of 10 people contributing to the increase in total employment were part-time employees. However, increased employment in the public sector mainly involved full-time jobs. This was in direct contrast to the private sector where only part-time jobs increased while full-time employment decreased. In the private sector, eight out of every 10 full-time jobs lost were in micro enterprises, while at the same time almost all the jobs by which part-time employment increased were in such enterprises.

Temporary employment

About 307,600 people are temporary employees, half of whom are women. In 2006, the rate of temporary employment declined from the 2005 figure of 12.1% to 10.9%. In relation to gender division, 13.3% of women worked on a temporary basis while 9.1% of men did so. Compared with 2005, ESYE recorded 28,000 fewer temporary employees, of whom 60% were men, in 2006. Therefore, it can be argued that the increase in paid employment was due to an increase in the permanent employment of about 77,400 individuals. In the public sector, the 17% increase in temporary employees was responsible for only a small part of the change; in the private sector, there were fewer temporary employees overall. The public and private sectors showed about an equal share in the increase in permanent employees. Nine out of every 10 temporary jobs lost were those in micro enterprises, while eight out of 10 jobs by which permanent employment increased were related to companies employing more than 10 people.

Most of the 194,416 people who became employed in 2006 entered into full-time employment; only 36,547 people (18.8%) were employed on a part time basis. Most of the people who entered employment in 2006 (157,149 people) became paid employees, and 46% became temporary employees (72,354 people). In 2006, the following hiring pattern can be observed among micro enterprises employing fewer than 10 people: 60% of all employees; 58% of full-time employees; 69% of part-time employees; and 52% of paid employees.

Employment structure

Overall, eight out of 10 people entered jobs in the private sector, either as full-time or as part-time employees. In addition, the private sector absorbed 85% of permanent and 65% of temporary employees among those who found employment in 2006.

Despite the significant proportion of newly employed people who entered the private sector, the number of full-time and temporary employees in the private sector in 2006 did not show a significant increase when compared with 2005.

Commentary

Despite the large contribution of micro enterprises in employing those people who entered the labour market in 2006 as paid employees, this category of enterprises did not maintain or increase their overall rate of paid employment. This is due to the fact that about nine out of 10 temporary jobs were lost in these enterprises. The rise in paid employment was caused by an increase in paid employees in companies employing more than 10 people. When considering the share of such companies in the overall increase in permanent employment, approximately eight out of 10 people who became employed in 2006 found a job in these companies.

Giorgos Kritikidis, Institute of Greek General Confederation of Labour (INE-GSEE)