ATHENS — Greek employers are more cautious over hiring plans in the third quarter of 2020, with 15 pct of employers expecting an increase in the number of employed people, 17 pct expecting a decline and 64 pct not expecting any change, ManpowerGroup said in its employment outlook survey released on Tuesday.

Following seasonal adjustment of data, total employment outlook was -7.0 pct, the weakest reading in the last four years, down 31 percentage points compared with the previous quarter and down 26 percentage points compared with the same period in 2019. The survey included two questions related with the Covid-19 pandemic. Sixty-five pct of employers said business activity was negatively affected by the pandemic, 79 pct said hiring will return to pre-Covid-19 levels in the next 12 months, while 45 pct of employers in the primary production sector expect hiring to return to pre-Covid-19 levels in the next three to four months.

Hiring prospects for four out of seven sectors of economic activity in Greece are the weakest recorded since 2012-2013 (construction, industry, tourism and commerce), while employers in six out of seven sectors expect a decline in the number of their workforce.

Employers in medium-sized enterprises said hiring outlook was -16 pct, the weakest rate, employers in small and large enterprises see hiring outlook at -8.0 pct and -6.0 pct, respectively, while employers in very small enterprises expect 1.0 pct hiring activity.