By Alexia Sotiriou

 

Greek economic sentiment index rose to 111.1 points in July from 110.1 in June, the highest reading in the last 16 months, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research IOBE said in a report.

 

According to IOBE, the economic sentiment index has been moving at high levels since the beginning of the year, much higher than last year, and the relevant indicators in the EU which fell significantly in May and worsened further in June and July.

 

IOBE attributed this development to an improvement of expectations in the retail commerce and service sectors, with expectations in the industrial sector deteriorating and expectations in the construction sector remaining flat.

The improvement in the economic sentiment was also fueled by the further strengthening of consumer confidence which marks a new two-year high.

 

The renewal of the government’s term also seems to have a positive effect as it leads to stability over the coming years.

 

Moreover, the course of tourism spur confidence in various sec-tors that are directly or indirectly affected by it although inflationary pressures have not subsided and are still a cause for concern.

 

On Monday the rating agency Rating and Investment Information (R&I) announced that it has upgraded Greece’s Foreign and Domestic Currency Issuer Ratings to investment grade BBB-, with a stable outlook.

 

Unemployment rate at 11.1 pct in June

Furthermore, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) the number of unemployed persons in Greece amounted to 523,409 in June 2023, decreased by 60,078 persons as compared with June 2022 (-10.3%) and by 6,234 persons compared with May 2023 (-1.2%).

 

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in June 2023 amounted to 11.1% compared to the downwards revised 12.3% in June 2022 and to the upwards revised 11.3% in May 2023.

 

The number of employed persons amounted to 4,189,862 per-sons, increased by 46,574 persons as compared with June 2022 (1.1%) and by 32,310 persons compared with May 2023 (0.8%).

 

The number of persons outside the labor force, (persons under the age of 75 that neither work nor look for a job) amounted to 3,088,274, decreased by 15,775 persons as compared with June 2022 (-0.5%) and decreased by 28,410 persons compared with May 2023 (-0.9%).