Greek barista Kyriakos Giannichronis has seen headlines about his country’s newly booming economy after years of stagnation — but he doesn’t feel wealthy.
The Athens resident has only about 150 euros ($170) to spare at the end of the month, despite getting a good deal on rent and earning just over the minimum wage.
Many Greeks are facing similar challenges — which is why Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is widely expected to announce new benefits in a major speech this week.
“I’m responsible enough for what I make, but… everything is increasing. The amount we get paid is pretty much the same every year,” he said.
“Things seem to be getting better, but they don’t seem to be,” the 27-year-old told AFP.
Living standards in Greece remain low despite a major recovery in the Mediterranean country, with the economy growing at 2% – higher than rates in much of Europe.
The reason there are two sides to the coin is that Greece has a lot of ground to make up after a nearly decade-long economic crisis and a pandemic-induced recession.
“The economy is growing and all the right things are improving, but from a very low base,” economist Nikos Vitas told AFP.
“Even if you have an increase now, this improvement is not enough to compensate,” said Vitas, who heads the Greek Institute for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).
To further complicate matters, housing and food prices have been rising due to inflation, which is now beginning to decline.
“The cost of living has actually offset some of the wage increase we have received, and as a result the real incomes of many families are suffering,” Vitas said.
Mitsotakis’ conservative government, which has been trailing in opinion polls, has blamed the rising cost of living on higher energy prices following the war in Ukraine.
His New Democracy party currently has about 22% of the vote, a far cry from the 40.56% it won in last year’s national election.
Mitsotakis is expected to announce a new round of benefits in the prime minister’s annual economic speech in Thessaloniki this week.
“Life is very expensive”
Last year, the country of more than 10 million people had the second-lowest GDP per capita in purchasing power parity within the European Union.
Only Bulgaria performed worse, according to the European Union data agency Eurostat.
The study also found that average annual income in Greece will be half the European average in 2023.
The minimum wage in Greece is 830 euros, which is about 900 euros less than the minimum wage in France.
“How are you supposed to live if you have to rent a house for 500 euros?” asked Athens hairdresser Christina Massiou.
“Life is so expensive that you can’t save money for emergencies,” the 24-year-old added.
She and her friend Alexandra Ciotti, who works for a public relations agency, spoke from under a palm tree on a beach near Athens.
They went to relax and “escape reality,” Maceo said.
“I’ve seen older generations say things are getting better. Maybe for them,” Ciotti, 24, told AFP.
“But young people here don’t have many opportunities to start their lives and invest in their dreams.”
Neither Switzerland nor Sweden
Last month, the Economy Ministry said that the net disposable income of Greek households had risen in recent years, placing Greece in 16th place in the European Union.
The ministry said in a statement that the data confirmed “the great progress our country has achieved over the past five years.”
But the ministry acknowledged that this was no reason to celebrate or “to belittle the real difficulties faced by many of our citizens.”
“It is clear that Greece has not turned into Switzerland or Sweden,” the newspaper added.
Economist Vitas pointed out that some sectors performed better than others.
“We have seen a sharp increase in salaries for professions that have some specialization and experience over the past three or four years,” he said.
“Either at the top end or the bottom end,” Vitas added, giving examples of computer scientists and construction workers.
But for those working in a sector like hospitality – a big industry in Greece – “it’s not easy to see how we can improve their situation.”
Giannichronis, the waiter, said he was trying to stay calm about the economic situation, even though he had to think about money all the time.
“I’m not angry because this won’t help me in any way. Things are the way they are. We can’t change much,” he said.
What he can control, he added, is how he budgets his own expenses and helps his friends manage theirs better.
“But if I get angry about it too, I’ll start losing myself and going crazy in the streets and screaming… and I don’t want that.”
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