Low productivity hurts SMEs

Greek small and medium-sized enterprises have the second lowest productivity in the EU according to the latest annual report on SMEs by the European Commission.

The added value per SME employee in Greece was €22,400 in 2023, ahead of only Bulgaria (€21,600) among the 27 member-states. The EU average is €54,500.

A silver lining among these dire numbers is that Greek SMEs had the third largest growth in gross added value (GAV), 3%, in the EU, where on average, GAV dropped 1.6%. The EC report estimates that productivity will grow at an even faster clip, 5.7%, in 2024, the second fastest in the EU.

This positive productivity growth in 2023 was driven exclusively by very small enterprises (up to nine employees), whose productivity rose 13.2%, while it declined in SMEs.

The report notes that Greece depends on SMEs more than other EU countries, representing 99...