Greece's Labor Minister Niki Kerameus announced a new subsidized employment program on Tuesday that will cover 90% of sa...

Greece's Labor Minister Niki Kerameus announced a new subsidized employment program on Tuesday that will cover 90% of salaries and social insurance contributions for 12 months. The program targets businesses that hire workers living in remote mountain and island communities across the country. The jobs will be performed remotely, meaning workers stay in their home regions while companies based elsewhere take them on. Kerameus framed it as a win for both sides, saying the idea is that a person stays in their own place but can still work, and if they prove their value the company will keep them on afterward. The announcement comes as Greece recorded two historic unemployment records last week, with jobless rates falling and employment rising to new highs. Kerameus said the domestic labor pool is gradually being exhausted after 600,000 more Greeks entered the workforce over the past seven years. To fill the gap, Greece is doubling down on its "Rebrain Greece" initiative, which travels to cities with large Greek diaspora communities to recruit expats who left during the financial crisis years. The program has already held events in London, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, and New York. The next event is scheduled for Munich on November 28. At a recent Germany event, 1,600 Greeks showed up, but Kerameus said organizers were caught off guard when German nationals also came looking for jobs with Greek companies, pointing to how severely Germany's recession has hit its own workforce. On unemployment policy, Kerameus said that Greeks who find work while receiving unemployment benefits will have their benefit converted into an employment bonus at half its value, creating a direct financial incentive to take a job. She also said that if an unemployed person refuses three job offers through the national employment agency, they are removed from the unemployment registry entirely. #Greece #Economy #GreekDiaspora