Greece Will Hire 75,000 Young

Desperately trying to slow the slide of record unemployment – now at 27 percent and with some analysts predicting it could hit 30 percent – Greece is planning to hire 75,000 young people, but not until January, 2014, Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis said. Nearly two-thirds of those under 25 are without a job during a crushing economic crisis.
Vroutsis said that with the new package of European Union structural funds, due to arrive next year, “We are launching the first major assault on unemployment.” He didn’t say why it took so long as the government has been imposing pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions that created the problem.
Addressing the National Growth Conference of the European Social Fund for the 2014-2020 funding period, Vroutsis said that, “This is a significant opportunity and in 2014 we will start with 75,000 new jobs, giving a chance to young people.” He didn’t say what the jobs would be or what they would pay as the government has cut the minimum wage to about $680 a month before taxes, 527 euros – less than half that in the United Kingdom and France.
The minister explained that the new program will be partly financed by the European Social Fund, from a budget of 4 billion euros ($5.18 billion.) “Some 20 percent of that will be devoted to combating social exclusion, while another large part will target youth unemployment,” Vroutsis said. “We have to restore young people’s contact with the labor market, as we are seeing the most vibrant part of our society witnessing its future becoming undermined.”
Vroutsis said there have been improvements, according to data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) and the Labor Inspection Squad (SEPE.) “On employment trends in the first four months of 2013, we have had an increase in the number of hirings by 25 percent and a reduction in the number of dismissals by 2 percent on an annual basis, with 52,500 more new jobs having been created this year compared to the same period in 2012,” the minister said.