The Greek private sector suffered a heavy blow in the last five years (2009-2014), according to new research conducted by Grant Thomson firm. In these five years the Greek private sector lost 19% of its workforce, thereby increasing unemployment in the country. The survey examined a sample of 4997 companies for the period in question (2009-2014).
However, the crisis did not only influence the workforce. The research found that profits had been significantly cut, while there was a 60% contraction in income tax paid to public funds.
The large sample firms appeared to have increased their turnover, however, without taking into account the processing and marketing of the petroleum products sector, it appears that they have lost 10% of their sales. In contrast, the smaller companies, have lost 35% of their sales.
The overall profitability appears to have reduced by 32% (4.8 bn euros) between 2009 and 2014. Furthermore, the businesses’ net lending fell by 7.5 bn euros.
The economic and political uncertainty are the main reasons behind the drop in the development of the Greek private business sector. The uncertainty may have been slightly reduced since the last elections, however, most business owners are still worried because they don’t know how the new reforms will be implemented.
Greece is the 45th largest economy in the world, with an estimated total turnover of 238 billion dollars in 2014, while the global capacity index of Grant Thornton ranks Greece at 51st place, along with Italy in regards to the dynamism of the business development environment.
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