In the official opposition party, they isolate the indicators of the year when Europe and the world economy experienced the biggest post-war recession due to the coronavirus crisis
They speak of “distortion of reality” in a statement-response to him SYRIZA the ministries Finance and Labor.
More detail:
“On the occasion of today’s announcement by ELSTAT of the results of the Household Income and Living Conditions Survey for the year 2021, the jeremiads started in Koumoundourou Square: In the main opposition party they are isolating the indicators of the year when Europe and the world economy experienced the greater post-war recession due to the coronavirus crisis to distort reality and draw false conclusions.
But let’s look at the results more carefully and in depth.
First of all, due to the pandemic and the precautionary measures taken by the government, 2020 was a completely unusual year, which does not lend itself to comparisons over time.
The first conclusion that emerges from the survey results is that despite the large drop in GDP by 9.0%, the household income support measures taken by the government were effective and almost completely supported household disposable income (a decrease of just 0 .9%).
As regards the increase in the poverty and inequality indicators recorded for the year 2020, this is temporary and is due to the structure of the Greek economy. In particular, it reflects the significant percentage of employment in service industries with a high degree of social contact which, due to the pandemic, remained closed for a long period of time in the year 2020. As a result, in 2020 in these industries significant incomes were lost. Due to the horizontal provision of financial assistance of €534 per month to a large number of suspended workers, the incomes of a relatively small group of households close to the poverty line fell below it, increasing the poverty rate. This phenomenon is also observed in other countries of the European Union with significant dependence on the sector of high social contact services, such as in Spain, Italy and Austria. At the same time, however, this horizontal benefit benefited many workers – especially part-time workers – whose monthly incomes before the pandemic were lower than the benefit. As a result, the poverty gap, i.e. the average distance of the poor from the poverty line, decreased from 27.3% to 26.4%.
In 2021, the Greek economy recovered impressively. The growth rate was 8.3% and employment increased by about 200,000, breaking the 4 million barrier for the first time in many years. This helped to improve the living standards of households: According to the same survey, and with a reference year now in 2021, the percentage of the population in material deprivation that had increased slightly from 16.2% in 2019 to 16.6% in 2020, in 2021 it records a significant decrease to 14.8%. This development predicts a complete reversal of the increase in poverty and inequality indicators recorded in 2020, for the year 2021, when the relevant income data becomes available.
Regarding the current year, according to the estimates of international organizations and international houses, despite the global financial crisis, the Greek economy is expected to record high growth rates, unemployment continues its downward trend, while the government has proceeded with a brave , and within the limits of the economy, an increase in the minimum wage that reaches 10%. As a result, we reasonably expect that the results of the next (reference year 2022) Household Income and Living Conditions Survey will record an even greater improvement in the living standards of the population. As the Greek and international experience shows, the effective and sustainable way to reduce poverty and social inequalities is to increase employment that creates a pro-development economic policy. The government follows and will continue to follow this policy, for the benefit of all Greek citizens”.
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