Unemployment

Retail sales in Greece rebounded in April, data showed on Monday, with Easter shopping helping to post the strongest rise in more than two years.

Retail sales by volume rose 7.3 percent year-on-year after a downwardly revised 1.2 percent drop in March, according to statistics service ELSTAT.

Greek retail sales by volume rose 7.3 percent in April compared to the same month last year, marking the strongest rise in more than two years after a downwardly revised 1.2 percent drop in March, statistics service ELSTAT said on Monday.

Unless Greece trebles its growth efforts in the economic sectors where the country currently enjoys added value, it will take at least a quarter of a century before the local jobs market recovers to a level last seen before the crisis, according to a report by global nonprofit organization Endeavor Greece to be presented at a conference starting on Thursday in Athens.

Bulgaria's National Employment Agency has registered an 11.2% unemployment rate in May, which is 0.6% lower than the April figure.

This is the second consecutive month when the rate falls, after it stood at 12.2% during the January – March period, Investor.bg reported. However, compared to the same time last year, it is 0.2% higher.

People with master degree work in cafes

Majority of young people of the Branicevo District is working in cafes, boutiques and kiosks although they have university diplomas and some even master degrees. Some of them are trying to start their own business.

By Christina Kopsini

The unemployment rate may still be high in Greece, but four in every 10 employers (from a sample of 750) state that they face difficulties finding the appropriate staff to cover their personnel requirements, a survey by Manpower Group has found.

Europe should introduce its own unemployment insurance fund, outgoing EU Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor has argued in an interview.

Andor, who is in charge of employment, social affairs and inclusion at the European Commission, told German weekly Der Spiegel that such a step would help Europe retain its usual stability during crisis like the one over the past years.

Greece's central government posted a primary budget surplus of 711 million euros ($968 million) in the first five months of the year, compared to a deficit of 970 million euros in the same period in 2013, Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Thursday.

Greece's jobless rate remained unchanged at 27.8 percent in the first three months of the year compared to the previous quarter, data from the country's statistics service showed on Thursday.

About 71 percent of Greece's 1.34 million jobless are long-term unemployed, meaning they have been out of work for at least 12 months, the figures showed.

As of September, Greek authorities will be obliged to implement a program to support poor households with a small benefit, according to the bailout agreement.

Deputy Labor Minister Vassilis Kegeroglou explained on Wednesday that the recipients will be households on an annual income of 4,800 euros or less.