The Ministry of National Economy and Financewith its relevant announcement, categorically denies rumors that the Subsidy Program for the employment of unemployed people aged 55 to 67 in public sector bodies has allegedly been cut or discontinued.

As he reports, the program continues as normal with increased resources and increased positions.

In particular:

The announcement states that the Program, while initially covering 10,000 unemployed people, has been successively expanded both numerically and quantitatively in terms of the amount of aid, so that today – after the last recent amendment of the Labor Code on August 6, 2024 – it covers 26,500 unemployed people. The latest increase of 5,000 places has an additional budgetary cost of €156 million, while the cost of the overall program now stands at €626 million.

In detail:

In order to strengthen and improve the 10,000 jobs program, which had recorded only 1,200 recruitments since 2017 when it was enacted, with the 13/06/2020 MLA, 5,000 positions that had been removed in 2018 were added, in addition to the 3,700 vacant positions. In addition, it was extended to all OTAs as well as NPDD, while the subsidy was increased from 50% to 75% of salary and non-salary costs with a maximum limit of 750 euros per month. The total budgetary cost of the program was originally estimated at 209.6 million euros.

With the decree of 16/09/2022, the program was extended for an additional 6,500 places.

With the 07/11/2023 GLA, the program was expanded by 5,000 places. In addition, all unemployed people aged 55 and over are now eligible, regardless of whether they are long-term unemployed, as well as unemployed people over 67 who have not established a pension right.

With the 06/08/2024 GLA, the program was extended for an additional 5,000 places, reaching a total of 26,500. The additional expenditure for the latest expansion of 5,000 places amounts to 156 million euros, of which 90 million euros is charged to the budget of the DYPA and 66 million euros to the budget of local governments and General Government bodies. The total estimated cost of the program has risen to 625.8 million euros, of which 367.8 million euros is charged to the budget of DYPA and 258 million euros to the budget of local governments and General Government bodies.

And the announcement concludes: it is clear that the Program is expanding sequentially, taking into account the expiration of the term of the oldest beneficiaries and the influx of new beneficiaries, but also the annual fiscal cost burdening the regular budget. All that has happened and is apparently misunderstood – in good faith or in bad faith by some – is that there are ceilings on both spending and seats that cannot be exceeded.

It is estimated that even after the latest expansion of beneficiaries by 5,000, and while the program was originally designed to have 10,000 active beneficiaries, of the approximately 26,500 recruited to date, more than 17,000 are currently active. Beneficiaries are hired each time for 12 months with the possibility of an extension of 12 additional months. It is understood that there are given fiscal margins both in the budget of the DYPA, as well as of the OTAs and the General Government bodies that define the rate at which the program positions are expanded. The Ministry of National Economy and Finance is in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and DYPA to extend the program within 2025, as happened repeatedly in 2022, 2023 and recently in August 2024.