One in two staff left out of work

The unprecedented lockdown of many economic sectors due to the coronavirus saw almost one in two private sector workers out of work, either permanently or for a limited period, according to report by the National Institute of Labor and Human Resources (EIEAD).

The report shows that more than 940,000 employees in Greece were laid off or had their contract suspended during the peak of the crisis.

Across the 27 European Union member-states, 5.3% percent of workers have lost their jobs permanently as a result of the health crisis, while the temporary loss of work concerned 23.2% of workers. In Greece, permanent lay-offs lagged the European average and affected 4.7% of workers, but the country had the highest rate in suspended contracts, which affected 41.8% of workers. This puts Greece top among the EU-27 in the temporary or permanent loss of work.

Although the...