Unemployment

The Labor, Social Security and Welfare Ministry is preparing to launch a work experience program for unemployed youths aged between 18 and 24, through private sector jobs, as part of a new action plan organized by the ministry, dubbed ‘Youth Guarantees.’

Greek retail sales by volume rose 3.8 percent in June compared to the same month last year, after a downwardly revised 3.6 percent drop in May, statistics service ELSTAT said on Friday.

By Angeline Benoit & Alessandro Speciale

Euro-area economic confidence fell more than forecast, Spanish consumer prices dropped the most in five years and German unemployment unexpectedly rose in a burst of data backing Mario Draghi’s warning that more stimulus may be needed.

Yordan Hristoskov, Bulgaria's caretaker Minister of Labor and Social Policy, has suggested that a minimum wage hike from BGN 340 to BGN 400 will not harm the business sector.

In a Thursday interview for private TV station bTV, Hristoskov said that it was high time to do something about Bulgaria still being at the bottom of the EU ranking by guaranteed minimum income.

Almost 35,000 people in Bosnia lost their jobs in the first half of this year, new figures published by the Agency for Labour and Employment show.

Statistics published in late August reveal that 34,605 became unemployed from January to June, approximately 5 per cent of the total workforce.

About 30 anti-poverty protestors gathered outside the Office of the High Representative, OHR, in Sarajevo on Monday to call on Valentin Inzko, who currently holds the post, to act.

The Council of BiH Citizens - a group that has hedl regular protests outside the Presidency since larger-scale demonstrations in February – displayed banners in English and Bosnian.

Orban: Give jobs to Roma instead of immigrants

BUDAPEST -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Europe should focus on employing the Roma instead of allowing immigrants in.

Highlighting the impact of Greece’s recession on small and medium-sized enterprises, the latest labor market data showed that the country’s 252 biggest employers provided work to one-quarter of the private sector’s total work force.

By Anna Mazarakis

Turkish unemployment declined to the lowest level of 10 months in the period of May, sustaining a downward trend that has been continuing since the beginning of the year, as shown by official data.