A study on the labour market conducted by the Institute for Small Businesses of the General Confederation of Professions, Tradesmen, and Merchants of Greece (IME GSEVEE) confirms the fears stirred at the start of the public health crisis.
A loss of 250,000 jobs at small and very small businesses in all sectors is projected and nearly fifteen percent of them will never re-open.
These numbers are huge and they are on top of the existing army of unemployed which explains why Greece has among the highest unemployment rates in the eurozone.
It is urgent to take all necessary measures to bolster the labour market which had it very rough in the decade-long economic depression.
An economic restart is inconceivable with a drop in the employment rate.
One cannot have economic growth with masses of unemployed and with the spine of the economy – small-and-medium-sized businesses – broken by the new crisis.
Obviously the solution is not to absorb the unemployed labour force in the civil service.
Those times are gone forever.
The government, however, can now offer tax incentives to get the private sector going and attract investments that will create new jobs.
The tools exist. One should utilise them in the best possible manner.
