June 20, 2020
Thousands of seasonal workers were not hired in May, the month when usually recruitment in the tourism industry takes place. In the shadow of the coronavirus crisis, unemployment in May skyrocketed to 25.13% when compared to the same month in 2019.
The number of registered unemployed in the Greek Employment Organization (OAED) increased by 233,559 in May on an annual basis, highlighting the problem of unwillingness to hire people in crucial sectors of the economy.
Registered unemployment totaled 1,162,955 people in May, down 1.86% from April (1,185,013), but up 25.13% from May 2019 (929,396), OAED said in a report on Friday.
OAED said that the number of unemployed people seeking jobs totaled 1,103,701 in May, of which 536,939 were unemployed for more than 12 months (48.65%).
Registered unemployment among men was 410,561 (37.20%) and among women 693,140 (62,80%).
The number of unemployed people not seeking jobs totaled 59,254 of which 19,368 were men and 39,886 women.
The number of unemployed people receiving unemployment benefit was 178,799 in May.
