Jobs that flourished in 2020
Workers in food production, as well as fishermen, drivers, machine operators and various service agents are the five groups with the biggest chance of finding a job amid the pandemic in Greece.
The demand for low-skilled workers such as cleaners, drivers and machine operators is recorded by the new mechanism for scanning labor market needs, which also registerers multiple changes in the local market.
This is a relatively new tool of the Labor Ministry and the National Institute of Labor and Human Resources, and its findings appear very useful: They not only offer a particularly detailed picture of the multifaceted changes due to the global health crisis, but they also provide the necessary scientific support for planning well-documented policies aimed at the quickly tackling the pandemic’s effects and laying down systematic preparation for the post-pandemic period.
According to that mechanism, whose findings have been processed by scientific researchers Stavros Gavroglou and Vaios Kotsios, the top spot last year belonged to operators of machines producing food, drinks and tobacco: In 2020 there were 10,868 hirings, 315 new salaried jobs were created and only 1,894 jobless people were recorded in these areas. The biggest chances of getting such a job were to be found in the regions of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the Northern Aegean and Attica.
In second spot are specialized fishermen and other workers in the same field, with 1,799 hirings last year, 25 new jobs created and just 387 jobless people in the sector. The most openings in this domain were to be found in the regions of the Ionian Islands, the Northern Aegean and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
While drivers and operators or assemblers of machines were next on the list, the fifth spot was occupied by various traders, estate agents and those offering professional services to enterprises.
Notably, 80% of the jobs with the greatest momentum amid the pandemic have required low skills, mainly concerning cleaners, delivery bike riders, distributors and logistics employees. However, 12% of all jobs created also required high skills.
