In Greece, the tourism industry is grappling with a significant shortage of workers, with around 80,000 unfilled positions in hotels and restaurants nationwide. Despite the positive outlook for 2024 indicated by early summer booking data, the current staffing crisis has sparked serious concerns within the industry.
The Panhellenic Federation of Workers in Food Service and Tourism (POEET) has expressed concern over the growing number of job vacancies in the sector. With over 400,000 individuals employed in this industry, the current estimate of 80,000 unfilled roles is a cause for alarm.
The Public Employment Service (DYPA) is actively addressing these shortages by introducing the “JOBmatch” app and exploring potential solutions to attract workers from third countries.
After downloading the JOBmatch app from the app store and carefully creating their professional resumes, job hunters are given access to a set of options that they can change to suit their needs. With these simple tools, they can narrow their search to include jobs they want, hours they want to work, places they want to live and pay amounts they want.
The careful selection of these filters ensures that job seekers are shown a specific set of chances that match their goals and living needs. This careful approach speeds up the job search process, helps companies meet their needs, and helps potential workers reach their goals.
However, this approach has faced strong opposition from industry workers, who have expressed concerns about potential strikes even during the busiest tourism season. They are urging the government to take immediate and significant action.
There were 57,700 vacancies in 2021, which increased to 60,000 in 2022 and surpassed 60,000 last year. This year, approximately 80,000 job openings remain unfilled. Of these, 53,000 positions are in the hotel industry (where the most sought-after positions are chamber maids and specialized managers), while the remaining 30,000 are in the food service sector.
Even with the planned 11,000 transfers of workers from third countries fully implemented, it still won’t be enough to fill all the vacancies or ensure the necessary skill sets.
As this problem continues to develop, it is becoming increasingly worse. After experiencing the increased workload in previous years, which was necessary to uphold the quality of service for tourists despite a reduced staff, employees in the industry have become quite sceptical about facing similar conditions this season. As a result, many seek jobs in other sectors, even if they offer similar or lower pay but with better working environments.
Even well-established businesses that follow labour regulations and collective agreements face difficulties finding workers in this challenging landscape, especially true as many individuals work in unreported or underinsured jobs to avoid losing their eligibility for seasonal unemployment benefits.
