ATHENS – Registered unemployment totaled 1,112,551 in January, up 0.29% from December 2021 but down 5.04% compared with January 2021, the Manpower Employment Authority OAED said on Monday. More specifically the number of registered unemployed people seeking jobs totaled 1,103,901 in January, of which 572,900 (51.9%) were long-term unemployed, 402,647 (36.47%) were men and 701,254 (63.53%) women. The number of people receiving unemployment benefit totaled 212,800 in January, of which 91,383 were men and 121,417 women.

Meanwhile, an annual report by the Ergani IT system showed that employment grew in 2021 despite the pandemic and its impact on the economy. More specifically, the workforce in the private sector totaled 2,163,610 in 2021 from 2,051,025 in 2020, an increase of 5.49%, of which 71.81% worked more than 35 hours per week (69.54% in 2020), the average gross monthly wage rose 12.27% for a total payroll cost of 2.4 billion euros per month (2.1 billion in 2020). The retail commerce sector remained the biggest employer in the country, accounting for 13.46% of total workforce, followed by hospitality (10.94%), wholesale (9.52%), education (4.63%) and the food industry (4.42%).

The report said the wage employment flow was negative in January, with new hirings totaling 137,983 and retirements 163,787, leaving a negative balance of 25,804 job positions.