Hiring prospects seen improving in Q1

Greek employers expect an increase of hirings in almost all sectors of economic activity for the first quarter of 2023, with a peak in major infrastructure projects like the railway, innovation, logistics, renovations and investments of large foreign companies.

Rapid growth is anticipated in the IT sector, with northern Greece expected to absorb most hirings.

Employers see the climate changing with the start of the new year, estimating that the overall employment outlook will revert to positive. Signs from the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey for January-March 2023 are encouraging, with the overall outlook at a positive 7%, a swing of nine percentage points from the last quarter of 2022.

In addition, 28% of the 520 Greek employers who participated in the survey stated that they expect an increase in the number of employees, 46% do not expect any change and 22% predict a decrease.

In Greece, according to Manpower, the mood for employment prospects is positive in almost all sectors, as Greek employers expect an increase in the hiring rate in seven out of nine sectors in the first quarter of 2023, while in the communication sector there is no differentiation expected and only in other services a reduction of 6% is foreseen.

Of course, the strongest and most competitive sector in Greece is information technology, with employment prospects reaching 27%, marking an increase of 22% from the preceding quarter and by 15% from the first quarter of 2022. They are followed by industry and construction with employment prospects of 13%, increased by 29% compared to the previous quarter and decreased by 6% compared to Q1 of 2022.

Due to the large projects to be launched in the next period, northern Greece appears as the strongest region in terms of hiring intentions, with an index reading of 18%. The momentum of the region is great and is reflected in an increase of 21% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 and by 17% compared to the first quarter of 2022.