Archive note: This text comes from the old archive of Nomika Epilekta and is preserved with care for historical and informational reading.

Unemployment in Greece has now taken an upward course, and unfortunately no one can predict where it will reach. According to statistical data, the total number of men, women and young people currently looking for work throughout Greece has reached the unbelievable figure of 684,000. It is particularly striking that unemployment rates are higher among people who hold a postgraduate or doctoral degree than among those with only basic education, while at the same time they are expected to remain unemployed for a longer period before finding work. It is estimated that the average time needed to find work is three and a half years. This phenomenon is due mainly to two reasons. The first is the inability of the Greek educational system to adapt to the needs of the labor market. In other words, the supply of graduates does not correspond to market demand, with the result that unemployment increases. A basic function of the Greek educational system is to push pupils and students to choose professions aimed at staffing the public sector, such as teachers, bank employees, public administration staff and so on, while at the same time the public sector is shrinking, trying to reduce its employees and hiring fewer people than those who retire. The second reason is the persistent tendency of Greeks to choose their studies according to the social position they will later acquire, and not according to employment prospects. Thus most decide to study law or medicine, because such studies are considered prestigious. This phenomenon is also supported by the fact that expectations for future income are high. This happens even if they must go abroad in order to study at very great cost. It becomes clear that the problem of unemployment in Greece is due to a large extent to institutional factors and to the mentality of Greeks, and therefore combating it requires the immediate change of political and social establishments in combination with other factors, such as the effort to attract investment that will contribute to the recovery of the Greek market. S. D.