Employment classifications

Just 260,000 freelancers and self-employed people have so far registered in the system of accepting payments through their account, a service supported by IRIS of DIAS Interbanking Systems SA. The number of registered freelancers falls well short of the total number active in Greece - 1.3 million - and the deadline expires at the end of March.

Bulgaria has extended the term of temporary protection for individuals from Ukraine. Decision No. 54, issued by the Council of Ministers on January 25, 2024, prolongs the period during which Ukrainian citizens can find employment opportunities in the country with relative ease.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Thursday that Greece is on the cusp of a migration agreement with India to bring in unskilled and skilled workers to the country to be employed in the agricultural, construction and tourism sectors.

In a comprehensive analysis conducted by Institute for Market Economics (IME) Senior Economist Adrian Nikolov, Bulgaria's labor market is forecasted to face a severe shortage of skilled workers, potentially reaching half a million individuals within the next three to five years.

European Union lawmakers provisionally agreed on Wednesday on a bill aimed at giving workers at online companies such as Uber and Deliveroo employee benefits, which if adopted would be a global first.

The new rules will prevent workers from being wrongfully classified as self-employed, and therefore not eligible for benefits, by introducing "presumption of employment".

The intervention attempted in the taxation of freelancers and the self-employed could find resistance everywhere: Those affected may consider it too high, while salaried employees, who are not able to hide their income, may consider it cowardly, as the income that the self-employed are required to declare is placed at the minimum wage level.

The government announced new tax measures for the self-employed on Tuesday with the aim of cracking down on tax evasion, which is estimated to exceed 10 billion euros per year.

BELGRADE - Serbia had an employed population of 2,360,762 people in Q3 2023 - up by 51,807 or 2.2 pct y-o-y, according to figures released by the national statistical office.

Industrial companies are struggling to find skilled workers to hire, trying every possible channel to reach out to them but to no avail, Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) President Seyit Ardıç has said, adding that firms are now increasingly turning to women workers to fill the void.

Total public sector employment in Cyprus decreased by 3.3% in March 2023, compared to March 2022, according to data published by the Statistical Service (CyStat) on Tuesday.

The total number of people employed by the state declined by 1,778 and reached 52,103 people.