Tourism: 20-year record in recruitment, but also job vacancies – Where they are due

By Dimitris Katsaganis

Mass recruitment, but also job vacancies are recorded in tourism. The phenomenon demonstrated by last year’s report (2021), according to which 1 in 5 jobs in tourism were vacant, is expected to continue this year, according to tourism market cycles contacted by the Capital.gr.

The same sources stated that the vacancies in tourism are due to three factors:

– The first is the pandemic. In particular, the restrictive measures of the period 2020-21 led a portion of those employees who were traditionally employed in tourism, to change their professional orientation.

– The second reason, according to the same circles, is the migration of Greek tourism workers abroad.

The third reason is the poor working and insurance working conditions for some employees, especially in the catering industry. So many workers leave the catering industry and so, indirectly, the tourism industry.

Nevertheless, the Ergani system report for April 2022 recorded that most new hires were located in accommodation and catering.

In total in these two sectors related to tourism, “net” recruitment amounted to 96,222.

In total, the new jobs (recruitment minus redundancies) amounted to 124,365. In other words, 77% of “net” recruitments are related to tourism, and not only that, but according to valid information from the Capital.grmore than 45,000 new jobs (out of a total of 150,000) from the open contribution subsidy program, during 2020 and especially in 2021, concern accommodation and catering, ie tourism.

In relation to the overall landscape, in April 2022, in addition to the champions of recruitment (accommodation, catering), a positive balance is recorded in retail, public, insurance and travel agencies

In the above sectors is due the record in the creation of new jobs in the first 4 months of the last 20 years.

More specifically, the “net” recruitments (ie recruitments minus redundancies) in accommodation amounted to 61,575, in catering 34,647, in retail 6,470, in public 3,446 and in travel agencies 2,782.

The professions with the most recruitment

At the same time, most of the “net” recruitments concerned the following sectors of workers:

– Waiters, assistant waiters, bartenders and waiters

-Cooks and roasters

– Maids

– Reception and customer service staff, receptionists and hotel groups

Salesmen and cashiers of commercial enterprises

– Lanzerides

– Secretaries, typists and clerks

– Drivers

– Musicians, singers, dancers, jugglers and various other artists

– Cleaners for offices, hotels and other areas

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Labor, there was a record of twenty years in the employment balance in April 2022 according to the data of PS. “Instruments”.

The four-month period January-April saw the third best performance since 2001, although the first two months of the year were affected by emergency measures for the coronavirus.

In particular, last month recruitment announcements amounted to 297,918 and departures to 173,553 (83,550 voluntary departures and 90,003 terminations of indefinite contracts or expiration of fixed-term contracts). As a result, the April balance was positive by 124,365 jobs.

The improvement, according to the Ministry of Labor, is mainly due to the increase in recruitment in the accommodation and catering sectors, which showed a positive balance of 61,575 and 34,647 positions respectively. It is characteristic that in these two sectors last month 157,854 recruitments were made.

By specialty, the best performance was recorded in the professions: waiters, cooks, waitresses, receptionists and customer service staff, salesmen and cashiers of commercial companies while the Regions with the best balance of recruitment / departures are the South Aegean (41,328 seats), 30.23 K positions places) and the Ionian (14,364 places).

For the period January – April 2022, recruitment announcements amounted to 789,235 and departures reached 641,112, of which 337,946 were the result of terminations of indefinite or expiration contracts and 303,166 voluntary departures.

Thus, the balance of wage flows in the first four months of 2022 is positive and stands at 148,123 jobs.