ABSTRACT
Over the past ten years, the Greek labour market has undergone dramatic changes. The impact of the economic crisis as well as the implementation of drastic product and labour market reforms linked to three economic “Memorandum” programs has created a climate of uncertainty not only for those in search of employment, but also for those already employed. In addition to the marked increase in unemployment rates experienced during the prolonged economic recession, another notable trend in the Greek labour market has been an accelerated move away from traditional (i.e. “standard”) open-ended full-time contracts towards more flexible, non-standard employment contracts. On the one hand, such a trend in the Greek job market has been, to an exceptional extent, a necessary reaction to the need for cost-cutting on behalf of enterprises at the brink of closure and facing severe financial constraints. On the other hand, the striking and continued proliferation of non-standard employment in Greece is raising concerns about the country’s ability to fully exploit its human resource potential and restore long-term growth.
