This senior project talks about the unemployment problem of Greece, and examines the conditions of Greek unemployment for the last 25 years. In this project I traveled through the years from 1995 to today, I wrote down the statistics, trends, and projections for the future of unemployment in Greece. In this project I attempt to answer the question, Is Greece's Nightmare Over which is something difficult to answer. In this project, I review historical decisions by the Greek governments over the years and its consequences regarding unemployment. In order to understand the problem of Greece we need to first understand its labor market structure, something that is explained in this project. I also depicted the social effect of the financial crisis on people of Greece over the years of harsh austerity by presenting the suicide rates increases in those years. Continuing, I talked about the current trends and the big 10% reduction in unemployment from 28% in 2014 to 18.0% in December of 2018 and the policies that the current Greek government used to achieve this reduction. Finally, I introduced a projection of unemployment, from 2019 to 2022 which shows a further reduction of unemployment if the current trend continues, and I shared an employment program that I believe can certainly help Greece recover even more from its problem, which is still relatively high compared to the rest of the EU countries.

The Greek unemployment rate rose from 2 percent in the 1960s to 9-10 percent in the 1990s. This reflected the increase in female participation rates, the slowdown in growth, the restructuring of production, and the increased mismatch between jobs and job seekers. But the most crucial factor was the persistence of real wage aspirations. The paper develops and tests a model that attributes this to the rapid expansion in the number of easy, life-time government jobs and the increase in the public/private wage differential during the 1980s.

The Greek unemployment rate rose from 2 percent in the 1960s to 9-10 percent in the 1990s. This reflected the increase in female participation rates, the slowdown in growth, the restructuring of production, and the increased mismatch between jobs and job seekers. But the most crucial factor was the persistence of real wage aspirations. The paper develops and tests a model that attributes this to the rapid expansion in the number of easy, life-time government jobs and the increase in the public/private wage differential during the 1980s.

Greece’s economy and society have undergone important structural changes in recent years as a result of the financial crisis and consequent austerity policies that have been implemented. The Greek labour market and employment relations system have been subject to immense pressures, leading to fundamental changes both in the structure of institutions and in the behaviour of the main employment relations actors. The present volume constitutes a first attempt to appreciate the consequences of a decade of austerity politics on the Greek labour market. Offering a multidisciplinary perspective and building on original research by leading Greek scholars in the fields of labour economics, employment relations and the sociology of work, it will discuss the impact of the crisis and the resulting policies on the Greek labour market and employment relations. This volume will be of interest to policy makers, researchers and students interested in the past, present and future of Greek employment relations and the impact of austerity on Greece.

The aim of the study is to explore developments in key labour market aggregates, such as the unemployment rate, the participation rate and the employment rate, and to highlight the fact that in the current environment of deep and protracted economic downturn, these developments varied significantly compared with the period before the crisis. The empirical analysis, employing a two-regime threshold cointegration model, shows that the labor force participation rate has increased throughout the period from 1990 onwards, reflecting the long-term trend for increasing female employment. However, prior to 2010, this upward trend is found to be independent of the level of the unemployment rate. Conversely, after the period of Greece's entry into the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the participation rate appears to be associated with a particularly high level of unemployment rate that characterizes this period, while accompanied by a sharp fall in the employment rate. It is concluded that the recent high level of unemployment does not discourage potential workers from seeking employment. It appears, however, that new entrants have low employment chances.

This research focuses on an issue that has persisted in Greece over recent decades - long-term youth unemployment. The issue has worsened in the last few years, however, in particular following unprecedented historical times caused by a worldwide economic recession that hit Greece particularly hard. This recession that was triggered by events in the United States in 2008, set off a worldwide recession, the effects of which continue to affect countries like Greece today. It is in this context that the post-secondary graduate unemployment rate in the country soared to 20% in 2010 and has since continued to follow an upward trend. What is more, the Greek economy, with debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio reaching more than 140% in 2010 and 165% in 2011, is not showing signs of improvement. This situation is far from encouraging for unemployed Greek youth. Grounded theory (GT) methodology is undertaken in this study which borrows from both Glaserian and Straussian GT method approaches. A Constructivist Grounded Theory perspective is used to interpret findings as the thesis analyses barriers to employment, understandings and coping mechanisms in relation to Greek graduate unemployment and identifies prospects for the future. Six participants were recruited through convenience sampling and informed research through in depth interviews. Unemployed post-secondary graduates interviewed in this study offered uniquely grounded data to inform my analysis and shared timely information amidst the challenging context of the Greek fiscal crisis. The situation has gained much international attention and opened the door for re-thinking and new possibilities. Given that the economic situation in the Eurozone is inextricably linked to the conditions in its member states, this study considers employment policy in both Greece and the European Union (EU). The thesis concludes by suggesting some potential areas for further research.