One in three employers is ready to lay off more workers…

The bleak predictions about the labour market are coming one after the other. After the Greek Statistical Authority and the Labour Inspectorate, according to research conducted by the ALBA Graduate Business School, new data from the Index of Labour Market Trends is emerging, showing that one in three companies will reduce staff, one in two will not increase wages during the next 12 months and one in five will reduce salaries.

More specifically and according to the survey for the second part of 2011, which was conducted between May and June:

1.   34% of companies may make a reduction of their workforce in the next semester. Only 17,9% will carry out recruitments.
2.   50,7% of companies did not provide any increases in the last year and this figure will reach 54% in the coming 12 months. Only 9,9% will provide increases over 3%.
3.   In contrast to the general economic climate, one in two companies still appears optimistic (48,1%).
4.   An increase of over 20% in attracting and selecting staff is only expected in the sectors of services, pharmaceuticals, construction and industry. In the education sector, the growth expectations of actions to attract new staff are zero, and same applies to the banking and tourism sectors. The trade sector shows even lower rates, below 10%. In the banking sector the number of voluntary retirements has risen by 30%.
5.   63,2% of companies state they have been greatly affected by the current economic crisis, an increased percentage compared to the past six months (52,4%). Only 1,4% said that they are totally unaffected.
6.   50% considers likely or very likely the possibility of reducing employee training, while the training of managers will also suffer by 40%. In addition, approximately 60% plans to reduce bonuses, while 19,6% will proceed to salary reductions (17,9% is thinking about it). 6,4% is considering the relocation of part of the company or all of it abroad.
7.   41,3% has made layoffs in the last six months while 22,5% has reduced wages.

Finally, it should be noted that of a total of 208 companies that took part in the survey, 51,1% were Greek while 48,9% were multinational.