Greece's food retail sector saw a 3.2% increase in employment in the first half of 2020, largely due to increased staff numbers at supermarkets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the wider retail sector, employment numbers were down 0.4% in the same period, according to IELKA, Greece's consumer goods research institute, using EL.STAT data.
Retail Jobs
IELKA estimates that the number of food retail jobs increased by 7,000 in the first half of 2020, compared to the previous year.
According to the group, employment numbers rose for a number of reasons, many of which were related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The period saw retailers reach out to their communities to recruit those that were facing difficulty in finding work, while also bringing on board personnel to manage additional sales channels, including e-commerce and telephone orders, as well as individuals to conduct in-store picking.
Measures to limit the spread of the pandemic, including extending the opening hours for stores and controls over the number of shoppers allowed into stores, have also created job opportunities.
Employment Numbers
Since the turn of the millennium, employment in the food retail sector in Greece has risen by 50.5%, while the remainder of the retail trade has seen a 8.5% decrease, IELKA noted.
As of 2019, food retail accounted for 5% of total employment in the country, surpassing sectors such as construction, banking, transport and health.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
