Flexible Working and Unemployment in Greece: An Analysis and Review of the Evidence

Abstract

In recent years, particularly in the European Union, it is believed that the reduction of labor costs will contribute to the competitiveness and adaptability of enterprises and thus to maintain existing and create new jobs. Since the early 1990s, Greece following the guidelines of the European Union, gradually pushed a series of legislative changes relating to payments, working time, etc. aiming to promote flexible working. This paper examines the relationship of flexible working, employment and unemployment in the Greek labor market. More specifically, we study the evolution of flexible forms of employment during the period 2000-2013 and examine whether these changes had an impact on the overall scale of employment and unemployment. The main conclusion of the study supports findings of other researches that the significant increase in flexible working, particularly after 2009, failed to increase employment and reduce unemployment in the Greek labor market.