Greece’s economy grew by 2.1% in the first quarter of the year, with positive prospects for the second quarter of the year as well.
However, a big “thorn” remains the lack of workers in key sectors of the economy, with tourism and restaurants at the forefront.
Positive signs
- Investments recovered in the first quarter of the year, showing growth of 2.9% after falling 5.7% in the final quarter of last year.
- The construction output index rose 5% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. At the same time, private construction activity jumped 77.8% in February (on an annual basis) and 44.4% in the first two months of the year compared to the corresponding period in 2023.
- The turnover of businesses in the entire economy increased by 16.1% in April on an annual basis. The largest increase of 49.7% was recorded in the turnover in the Construction sector, followed by Mines-Quarries with an increase of 34.9%, and Wholesale-Retail trade with 18.7%.
- The improvement of the economic climate in May, based on the IOBE index, due to the rise in Industry, Construction and Retail Trade, while there was a slight decline in consumer confidence. In particular, there was an increase in expectations in industry to 109.2 points in May, from 108.7 points in the previous month, higher than a year ago (105.1 points).
The remarkable increase in salaries and wages in key sectors of the economy, as recorded by ELSTAT. Specifically on an annual basis in the first quarter of this year there was an increase of 24.6% in Construction, 22.3% in Administrative and Support Activities, 16.8% in Professional, Scientific and Technical activities, 15.8% in Wholesale and Retail trade, 12.9% in Manufacturing, 16% in Transportation and Storage.
Labor shortages
However, the shortage of workers in key sectors of the economy, especially in tourism and restaurants, is increasing year by year. That is the reason why the government is considering measures that will remove the disincentives for employment in these sectors while simultaneously calling on businesses in the wider tourism sector to pay workers better.
