The reduction of the unemployment rate is satisfactory, but the explosion of redundancies is frightening

The data of the labor market in September, as recorded by the Hellenic Statistical Authority, in combination with the data available from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Ergani system), show a recovery of employment, a reduction of unemployment, but also an explosion of redundancies.

Thus, while the Hellenic Statistical Authority records a decrease in unemployment to 13%, in September, the quality data of the ERGANI system show a large increase in redundancies by about 63,000 people.

An increase in redundancies is also expected in October, as the economy – gradually – is depleted by the support measures due to the pandemic.

However, the data of the statistical authority, for the month of September, show the unemployment to 13%, a percentage that reminds us of 2011. The decrease in the number of the unemployed, on an annual basis, i.e. compared to September 2020, reached the percentage of 21.7%.

The unemployed ones were about 609,501 people, showing, thus, a decrease of 169,335 people compared to September 2020 and 45,571 people compared to August 2021 (-0.7%).

On the contrary, the number of employees increased and reached 4,081,787 , showing an increase of 140,839 people compared to September 2020 (+ 3.6%) and 8,177 people compared to August 2021 (+ 0.2%).