Stubborn labour shortage alarms the Greek construction industry – Can it be reversed?

The lack of personnel in the construction sector is evolving into a complex problem. This shortage now appears to be affecting how significant real estate companies proceed with their investments. At yesterday’s regular General Assembly of Demand, the company’s CEO, Dimitris Andriopoulos, did not hide the fact that the shortage of mainly technical labour is causing delays in the implementation of their projects. He even spoke of a challenging environment in the construction field over the next 12 months.

More specifically, speaking on the issue, he noted that “we are experiencing inflation in construction costs, and we have a significant shortage of labour, resulting in an explosive mix from public works projects and demands for projects in Thessaly for the development of the private sector. Nowadays, a daily wage that was 44-50 euros a few years ago has now reached 80 and 90 euros. Today, contractors cannot find workers to take on a project. Therefore, we are operating in a challenging environment.”

Mr. Andriopoulos, continuing his remarks, stated that importing personnel and expertise is not an easy task due to the many needs, and he described the issue as “intractable.” “Therefore, the problem extends from construction to us.” Regarding how Dimand is addressing this issue, Mr. Andriopoulos provided details, noting that they have taken three measures. He said, “We are dealing with these issues proactively. We have added time to the completion of our projects, impacting the cost, as it is an unmanageable issue.

“We extended the project timelines for safety reasons. Our second action was coordinating with the contracting community, which prefers and selects us over other projects. The third is leveraging our 20 years of expertise and using value engineering to smartly manage costs, which is appreciated by banks and customers. Additionally, we have decided to reduce our profit margins as a gesture of commitment to our clients, and the rents we offer are competitive compared to others.

However, Dimand’s strongman predicts that labour shortages in the construction sector will likely continue. “Many large projects are starting, such as the Ellinikon, and therefore, we do not foresee any change in construction costs. The situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Speaking at the TMDE conference, the president of TEE, Giorgos Stasinos, also mentioned the difficulty in finding personnel. “If you had asked me in 2015, I would have said it was very difficult for a young engineer to find work. If you asked me the same question today, I would say it is very difficult to find an available engineer,” he remarked.

From the same platform, the General Manager of INTRAKAT, Tasos Aranitis, spoke about the challenging framework for importing labour. He noted that considerable bureaucracy complicates this process. He cited Romania as an example, stating that although the situation there has also become difficult due to many large projects, the framework is easier to navigate.

In some cases, the first crew of workers has started to arrive. According to sources from ypodomes.com, a group of Indian workers has arrived on behalf of AVAX, and more personnel arrivals are expected to resolve the difficulty of finding staff.

How ELSTAT Depicts the Problem

However, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) also documented the issue of personnel shortage. According to an ELSTAT survey for the month of April, there was a significant increase in business turnover, with construction companies leading the way with a 49.7% increase. Specifically, the turnover amounted to 32,448,912 thousand euros, marking a 16.1% increase compared to April 2023, when it was 27,937,199 thousand euros.

According to ELSTAT data, job vacancies in the first quarter of the year reached a 15-year record high, increasing by 115.6% to 70,826 vacancies (compared to 32,850 last year), with a significant portion of these vacancies recorded in the construction sector.

Let’s recall that in a recent IOBE survey commissioned by TMEDe regarding the construction sector, there was discussion about a labor shortage that could reach 50,000 job vacancies by 2026, marking the peak in the sector.

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