Businesses in Greece's tourism and food & beverage sector led hirings for a third straight month in May 2018, adding to their payroll for the summer season.
According to an electronic system run by the labor ministry, nearly 78,000 new hirings out of the roughly 109,000 in May (71.5 percent) were conducted by hotels, restaurants and other such businesses.
The difference between hirings and firing in the south Aegean region, which includes the popular Cyclades islands, was 32,874 job spots. Conversely, the western Macedonia region, in northwestern Greece, reported only 280 new hirings.
Overall during the first five months of 2018, nearly 247,000 new jobs were created, the best five-month performance since 2001.
Of the new jobs created in the first five months of 2018, 49.78 percent were full-time employment, compared to 49.75 percent during the same period in 2017, and 49.64 percent in 2016.
