Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain are some of the UNECE member countries that were most severely affected by the 2008 financial crisis. Amongst these countries, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain all experienced modest employment growth in 2014 compared to the year before.
Employment grew by 2% in Ireland and 1% in Greece, Portugal and Spain. Italy, however, reported more or less no change in the number employed in 2014.
This marks the first year of employment growth since the crisis in Greece, Portugal and Spain (employment in Ireland also grew in 2013). From 2009 to 2012, employment either shrank or remained at the same level in all five of the countries mentioned above. Notably, employment shrank in Greece by 7% and 8% in 2011 and 2012, respectively, and shrank in Ireland by 8% in 2009.
Source: UNECE Statistical database www.unece.org/stats/data