OECD On Unemployment in Greece

The 2014 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook reviews recent labour market trends and short-term prospects in OECD and key emerging economies.  (OECD Employment Outlook Sept, 2014- http://www.oecd.org/greece/EMO-GRC-EN.pdf) 

It makes the following points on Greece:

• "Unemployment in Greece remains at its highest level since the onset of the crisis
• Despite moderate signs of recovery across many OECD countries in 2014, the unemployment rate in Greece remains stuck at close to its highest level since the onset of the economic crisis (27.2% as of May 2014).
• OECD projections suggest that the expected joblessness rate in Greece will remain high (around 27%) through to the end of 2015.
• ·         As of the first quarter of 2014, more than one in three unemployed persons had been out of work for 12 months or more across the OECD.
• ·         Greece shows one of the highest shares of long-term unemployment in the OECD. This has increased from 49% to 71% between Q4 2007 and Q1 2014."
• ·          "This trend is particularly worrisome for the hardship it imposes on the individuals concerned and their families. It also potentially contributes to a rise in structural unemployment as a result of skill depreciation and declining motivation to find a job. This could have potential ‘scarring’ effects on the long term career prospects of those experiencing long spells of unemployment.
• ·         Greece experienced one of the largest falls in real wages across OECD countries (more than 5% per year on average since the first quarter of 2009). The private sector was hit hard by wage cuts (-3.4% per year) but these cuts were also experienced in the public sector (-1.9% per year). While the sharp decline of wages contributed to partially reverse the gap in unit labour costs with Germany, and restore external competitiveness, hourly labour productivity growth has remained stubbornly negative since the onset of the crisis.  "

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