There are 12 sectors of the Greek economy, in which employment increased during the second quarter of this year and essentially helped the unemployment rate to drop (9.8%) to single-digit levels.
The figures of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) show that in total, 133,300 new jobs were added in one year.
In the five-year period 2019-2024, it appears that the increase amounts to 369,100 jobs. So, more than one in three new jobs (36.11%) were created in just the last year. In the second quarter of 2019, employed people totaled 3,956,924, according to the official data of ELSTAT.
In the corresponding quarter of this year, employed people reached 4,327,825 people, a fact that shows that the latest positive growth rates helped to create new positions. So, it follows that 370,901 jobs opened in the last five years.
More specifically, the analysis of the second quarter of 2024 with the corresponding second quarter of 2023, shows that most of these 133,300 new jobs were in professional, scientific and technical activities (27,700 or 20.78%).
Accommodation and restaurants follow (25,700 or 19.27%), while constructions are also very high (18,600 places or 13.95%). Essentially, the three above sectors offered 72,000 new jobs in a year, a number that corresponds to 54.01%, i.e. to more than half of the new jobs created in the same time period.
Analyzing the ELSTAT data in relation to the number of employees, by sector, it appears that the first place, in terms of the positive effect on the labor market, belongs to retail and wholesale trade. During the second quarter of the current year, employees reached 706,300, more by 7,000 or 1%, compared to the 699,300 recorded a year earlier. However, the effect of accommodation and catering is also significant with 439,700 workers this year, compared to the 414,000 recorded during last year’s second quarter.
Professional, scientific and technical activities remain high with 289,700 workers during this year’s second quarter, compared to the 262,000 jobs a year ago.
Transportation and storage followed with 240,500 jobs, up by 7,900, compared to the 232,600 recorded in the second quarter of 2023 (3.4% increase).
Construction may have added 18,600 more jobs (175,500 this year, up from 156,900 last year), but it ranked fifth, in terms of total numbers.
