Unemployment

As many as 130,000 commercial enterprises shut down during Greece’s six-year economic recession while no more than 45,000 new ones opened, which translates into a net loss of some 85,000 businesses.

At the same time an estimated 575,000 small and medium-sized enterprises were forced to stop operating, while 265,000 new ones were started.

In May, the unemployment rate in Bulgaria preserved its level from April and was 11.9%, but decreased by 1.1% compared to May 2013, according to Eurostat.

A total 399,000 Bulgarians were unemployed in May 2014 compared to 402,000 in April and to 439,000 a year ago, the latest data of the European Statistical Office shows.

By Stefan Riecher

The euro-area unemployment rate was unchanged in May as the currency bloc struggled to shake off the legacy of the debt crisis.

Retail sales in Greece rebounded in April, data showed on Monday, with Easter shopping helping to post the strongest rise in more than two years.

Retail sales by volume rose 7.3 percent year-on-year after a downwardly revised 1.2 percent drop in March, according to statistics service ELSTAT.

Greek retail sales by volume rose 7.3 percent in April compared to the same month last year, marking the strongest rise in more than two years after a downwardly revised 1.2 percent drop in March, statistics service ELSTAT said on Monday.

Unless Greece trebles its growth efforts in the economic sectors where the country currently enjoys added value, it will take at least a quarter of a century before the local jobs market recovers to a level last seen before the crisis, according to a report by global nonprofit organization Endeavor Greece to be presented at a conference starting on Thursday in Athens.

Bulgaria's National Employment Agency has registered an 11.2% unemployment rate in May, which is 0.6% lower than the April figure.

This is the second consecutive month when the rate falls, after it stood at 12.2% during the January – March period, Investor.bg reported. However, compared to the same time last year, it is 0.2% higher.

People with master degree work in cafes

Majority of young people of the Branicevo District is working in cafes, boutiques and kiosks although they have university diplomas and some even master degrees. Some of them are trying to start their own business.

By Christina Kopsini

The unemployment rate may still be high in Greece, but four in every 10 employers (from a sample of 750) state that they face difficulties finding the appropriate staff to cover their personnel requirements, a survey by Manpower Group has found.

Europe should introduce its own unemployment insurance fund, outgoing EU Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor has argued in an interview.

Andor, who is in charge of employment, social affairs and inclusion at the European Commission, told German weekly Der Spiegel that such a step would help Europe retain its usual stability during crisis like the one over the past years.