Job market sinks, worst July since 2013 in new hirings

Even though 67,911 more hirings were completed in July than layoffs, with the private sector employment balance in July at its highest level since 2001, this picture is misleading as it relates to the opening of tourism after the lockdown, while in the first seven months of the year new work positions were the worst since 2013

With most businesses closed until June, the resumption of tourism in July after the lockdown resulted in a significant number of new hires, but overall it is the worst  performance in seven years in job creation.

Typically, between 2019-2020 new job positions were 60 percent less in the first seven months of 2020 with 111,305 new jobs being created while in the corresponding period last year new jobs had grown to 281,775.

According to the data on salaried employment for July, new jobs reached 306,808, while job cuts reached 238,897 (87,824 came from voluntary resignations and 151,073 from the termination of open-ended contracts or the expiration of fixed-term contracts). The 67,911 jobs created are the best performance since July 2001, while last year the balance was negative with 14,691 fewer jobs.

For the period January - July 2020, new jobs amounted to 1,157,209 jobs and departures reached 1,045,904, resulting in the employment balance for the first seven months of 2020 being positive and standing at 111,305 new jobs.

Labour Minister: Govt ready to meet challenges

The balance of salaried employment in a pandemic environment due to COVID-19 for July shows particularly positive results, compared to previous months, due to the delayed opening of the tourism sector, according to Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis.

In any case, we are prepared to face the challenges of the coming months and the effects of the pandemic and the recession on the labor market. Overall, the government and Labour Ministry will continue with targeted policies and actions, responsibly and without complacency to support the maintenance of jobs, focusing on the health and protection of workers, he added.