ATHENS — Official figures showing a very positive balance of wage employment flows in September, combined with a stable unemployment rate in July, indicated that a series of policy initiatives taken by the government managed to limit the negative impact of the pandemic crisis on the labour market so far, Labour Minister Yiannis Vroutsis said on Tuesday.

Commenting on the release of the official figures on employment trends, Vroutsis said that the government and the ministry acted promptly and decisively, with realism, placing as a top priority the protection of public health, social cohesion and supporting workers, enterprises and unemployed people.

A report by the "ERGANI" IT system showed that the country's balance of wage employment flows was positive by 38,529 job positions, while full-time employment also improved in September. A few days ago, Hellenic Statistical Authority said that the unemployment rate in Greece eased 1.2 pct in July to 16.8 pct from 18 pct in June 2020 and eased 0.3 pct to 17.1 pct compared with July 2019.