THE unemployment fell to 11% and it is not an April Fool’s joke, writes the Minister of Labor, Kostis Hatzidakisturning against the opposition, for which he says that “they lose their word when good news is announced about the further fall of unemployment in our country”.
“When these are not convenient for those who oppose cholera, they pretend to ignore them!” ends up in his post.
The whole post by Kostis Hatzidakis:
“Unemployment fell to 11.9% in February 2022, according to Eurostat data. And this is not an April Fool’s joke! Of course, all those who call themselves progressives lose their word when good news is announced about the further fall of unemployment in our country. Do they prefer unemployment to remain high? Or are they upset because their myth that we are the anti-workers is falling apart?
Eurostat data underline the results of our effort. And in fact in an environment of great difficulties. Not only that, unemployment has decreased by 5.3 percentage points compared to the SYRIZA government (from 17.2% to 11.9%). It is also that since February 2021 it has fallen by 4.3 percentage points. It is also important that youth unemployment has fallen by 9.1% compared to February last year. And all this in the midst of a coronavirus and while most analysts were warning of the exact opposite results!
However, the fall of 5.3 percentage points with the New Democracy government was not accidental. It is a result of our fiscal, fiscal, licensing, employment and insurance policies. On the part of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, we have contributed to the much-accused Labor Protection Act, but it certainly combines the goal of protecting workers with the goal of boosting competitiveness and attracting investment. We also contributed by reducing the insurance contributions, but also by tripling the rates in OAED programs.
We are now implementing a series of policies that will make a significant contribution to the employment prospects of the unemployed. Through its programs, OAED seeks to create a total of 86,000 new jobs in 2022. At the same time, the program of 150,000 positions continues, with which the total of the employee and employer insurance contributions is subsidized by the state budget, for a period of six months. The program “First Badge” is still being implemented for young people aged 18-29 who do not have previous service, which as I announced yesterday will make it much more attractive. While just yesterday we announced together with the governor of OAED Spyros Protopsaltis a new program for 10,000 young people up to 29 years old, in Attica and Central Macedonia, for seven months, with a fee of the minimum wage.
And the effort is not limited to these: A program is being promoted to train 150,000 people in digital and “green” skills, with resources from the Recovery Fund and which will run in the coming months. And at the same time, with the bill “Jobs again” we set as a goal for our unemployed fellow citizens to acquire new weapons in their effort to find a job. A typical example is the work allowance that we are instituting for the first time, so that the unemployed person receives 50% of the unemployment benefit in the period between his / her employment until the end of the time in which he / she would receive the unemployment benefit.
Obviously I do not note what I have said so far to celebrate, because the unemployment rate remains high and that is why we will remain vigilant. After all, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is exacerbating the economic climate throughout Europe. What is certain, however, is that the Government’s policy is on the right track. All the facts prove it. “Only when these are not convenient for those who make a choleric opposition, they pretend to ignore them!”
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
