ATHENS – A saving grace during an eight-year-long crushing economic and austerity crisis, tourism is also providing a big jump in the number of jobs in Greece, although most are part-time or seasonal.

The Labor Ministry’s Ergani hirings database showed that in May there were 308,169 hirings compared to 194,444 departures, a net gain of 108,725 jobs, the largest in the last 18 years for that month and a big jump over 2017 when there was an increase of 89,534.

More than half of the jobs created though, some 154,413, were considered part-time employment with the biggest demand being for receptionists, waiters, bartenders, hotel and restaurant cooks, secretaries and other office jobs, and cleaners.

Most were in areas with high tourism and for men between 30-44. May was the fourth straight month of a jobs increase although Greece’s unemployment is still the highest in the European Union.