Deputy Labour Minister Plakiotakis on the long-term unemployed
More than one million jobs were lost since the beginning of the crisis, Deputy Labour Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis on Wednesday told an audience in a seminar on co-financed programmes.
A total of 1,061,900 jobs were lost between the first quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2014, while in the same period the number of unemployed increased by 865,600 to 1,342,300, Plakiotakis said.
The crisis impacted on all groups of employees but the worst-hit were the young, women and older employees, he noted.
The unemployment rate for young people, aged 15-24, was 58.3 pct on 2013, he said, adding that youth unemployment in Greece was always high, showing that deep structural problems existed before the crisis.
Since mid-2013 the situation in the job market has stabilised, he said, underlining that the labour ministry's policy is based on two key points, namely, the consistent implementation of the new Development Plan and the direct support of the unemployed, especially the long-term unemployed, through targeted actions aimed at boosting employment and enhancing skills.
