The number of unemployed people reached 591,573, marking a twofold decrease of 8.6% compared to the previous quarter and of 19.2% compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2022 stood at 12.4%, compared to 13.8% in the first quarter of 2022 and 15.8% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority.
As the data for the second quarter of the year show, the number of people looking for work appears to be declining.
At the same time, the number of people not included in the labor force, or «people outside the labor force»—that is, those who are neither working nor looking for work—totaled 4,293,133.
Specifically, the number of people outside the labor force under the age of 75 totaled 3,083,769. Their percentage decreased by 2.3% compared to the previous quarter and by 4.3% compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Women and young people have the highest unemployment rates
According to ELSTAT data, the highest unemployment rates are observed among women, people aged 24 and under, in the Region of Western Macedonia, and among people who have completed only a few grades of elementary school.
Conversely, the highest percentage of the labor force is found among men, people aged 30–44, in the South Aegean Region, among those who have completed post-secondary education, and among foreign nationals.
Double increase in the number of employed people
The number of employed persons reached 4,167,239, showing a twofold increase, with a rise of 3% compared to the previous quarter and 6.4%, compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
The highest percentage of the labor force is found among men, people aged 30–44, in the South Aegean Region, among those who have completed post-secondary education, and among foreign nationals.
In the second quarter of 2022, the largest percentage of the workforce were salaried employees (69.9%), while the percentage of self-employed individuals without employees is also significant (19.3%).
The part-time employment rate stands at 8.4%, while the rate of individuals in temporary employment is 7.9%. Part-time employment has decreased (-4.3%) compared to the previous quarter and increased compared to the same quarter of the previous year (9.7%). Temporary employment has increased both compared to the previous quarter (43.2%) and compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year (19.8%).
The occupations with the highest percentage of employed workers are service workers and salespersons (22.3%) and professionals (21.8%). Compared to the previous quarter, the largest increase was observed among unskilled workers, manual laborers, and small business owners, as well as among industrial plant operators, machinery and equipment operators (15.8%, 8.8%, respectively), while a decrease was observed among technicians and related professionals and among office workers (-4.0% and -1.5%). Compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the largest increase was observed among unskilled workers, manual laborers, and small business owners, as well as among professionals (10.21 TP3T and 9.71 TP3T, respectively), while a decrease was observed among technicians and those in related occupations (-6.61 TP3T).
If we examine the trend in the distribution of the workforce across broad occupational groups, it can be observed that, since the first quarter of 2011, the percentage of workers in low-skilled non-manual occupations has been increasing (3) while the percentage of workers in skilled manual occupations has been declining, although it did increase in 2021. The percentage of workers in non-manual, highly skilled occupations is on the rise, while the percentage of workers in elementary occupations has remained relatively stable since 2011. Finally, the percentage of people employed in agriculture, forestry, livestock farming, and fishing has shown a downward trend since 2014 and an increase during the first two quarters of 2021.
